The Kaduna State Government has commenced the distribution of N100,000 grants to 97 former inmates recently pardoned by Governor Uba Sani, as part of efforts to ease their transition back into society and discourage a return to crime.
The Punch reported that the financial support was disbursed on Friday at the Kaduna Medium Security Custodial Centre, delivering on a promise made by the governor after the beneficiaries were released on June 12 in commemoration of Democracy Day.
The former inmates regained their freedom through the governor’s constitutional prerogative of mercy. In addition, the state government paid fines imposed on some of the beneficiaries to secure their release.
Speaking during the exercise, the Assistant Controller of the custodial centre, Dalhat Ibrahim, said the intervention would significantly aid the rehabilitation and reintegration of the former inmates.
“By paying the fine of the inmates and giving them financial assistance, this will encourage them to go and do what they are supposed to do. They are now set to be reintegrated into society,” he said.
Ibrahim noted that the initiative aligns with the correctional service’s objectives of reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders into society.
He urged the beneficiaries to invest the funds in productive ventures and avoid activities that could lead them back into conflict with the law.
Also speaking, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Protocol, Mohammed Suleiman, described the disbursement as the concluding stage of the clemency programme introduced by the state government.
“We are here as part of the last leg of the clemency granted some inmates on June 12.
“We are fulfilling the Governor’s promise by extending financial support of N100,000 each to the freed inmates,”Suleiman said.
He further encouraged the beneficiaries to remain responsible citizens and refrain from any conduct that could result in future incarceration.
Beneficiaries of the programme expressed appreciation to the state government for the gesture. One of them, Chuks Solomon from Ebonyi State, said the financial assistance would provide an opportunity for many of the former inmates to establish businesses and rebuild their lives.
Another recipient, Abubakar Umar, commended the initiative, describing it as a fresh chance to start over and a source of hope for those released.
The support scheme is part of Kaduna State’s wider criminal justice reform agenda, which seeks to reduce congestion in custodial facilities, strengthen restorative justice measures and facilitate the successful reintegration of ex-offenders into society.
