NGO donates materials to prisons’ inmates

By Olugbenga Salami

A non-governmental organisation, NGO, the First Child & Prisoner Care Foundation, has donated daily needs to the inmates of some prisons in different states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT as part of its national prisons outreach in the country.

The beneficiaries of the current outreach are the prisoners in Kuje in FCT; Suleja, Niger State; Sapele, Delta State and Oko in Anambra State, respectively.

Some of the packed items distributed to the inmates include toothpastes, toothbrushes, tissues, shaving sticks, body cream, slippers, bathing and washing soaps, and disinfectant, among others.

Head of Administration of the NGO, Comrade Sofiya Ibrahim-Ogoh, while presenting the materials on behalf of the founder, Ambassador Efe Martins, at Kuje Prison over the weekend, said it was aimed at complementing the government’s efforts in ensuring adequate welfare for the inmates.

According to her, “Ambassador Martins, whose passion for humanity knows no bounds, has been using the NGO to touch lives since it was established in 2013”.

“We are here with these items to show our care, love and affections for you. We want you to know that this is a reformatory society and don’t see what you are going through as punishment.

“We promise that we will not give up but follow up on your individual cases and ensure amnesty for you where and when necessary. We will make cases for those of you who are awaiting trials”, Ibrahim-Ogoh said.

She also promised that the organisation would continue to support government in its efforts to improve the welfare of the inmates and guarantee their reformatory processes across the country.

The Head of Administration added that the donated items were to ease the hardship being faced by prisoners in the area of daily needs.

Ibrahim-Ogoh explained that objective of the organisation was to reach vulnerable people, especially the prisoners, widows and others with a view to making life bearable for them.

Responding on behalf of the inmates, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed, expressed gratitude to the NGO for the gesture, and appealed for more support, especially in the area of amnesty from the government.

“The suffering is too much for some of us. A lot of the inmates don’t have influential individuals and organisations to assist them, as some may not be taken to court for their cases more than once in a year.

“We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. We are appealing to you to help us talk to the government for amnesty, because a lot of us are innocent of what brought us here”, Mohammed said.