The Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has commenced plans to establish a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to strengthen the rehabilitation, empowerment and reintegration of inmates, particularly women and young persons in conflict with the law.
The proposed partnership was discussed when the Controller of Corrections, Edo State Command, CCS Julius Osemwegie, led a delegation on an official visit to the ministry in Benin City.
During the meeting, both institutions explored areas of collaboration, including vocational training, education, sports, recreation, social welfare and non-custodial services.
Receiving the delegation, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Eugenia Abdallah, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Joy Ihensekhien, described the visit as timely and significant.
She noted that the mandates of both institutions were closely aligned, particularly in promoting rehabilitation, welfare and the restoration of vulnerable persons to productive lives.
The commissioner said the ministry was particularly interested in interventions targeting female inmates, vulnerable youths and juveniles in conflict with the law.
She assured the NCoS of the ministry’s willingness to explore practical areas of collaboration, proposing the use of its existing skills acquisition centres to provide inmates with vocational and entrepreneurial skills that would improve their prospects of becoming self-reliant after release.
According to her, the ministry would work with the Correctional Service to obtain relevant data on inmates and determine how existing programmes could be extended to custodial centres, including those on Sapele Road in Benin City and in Auchi.
She also expressed the ministry’s readiness to strengthen interventions at the Children Correctional Centre, particularly through sports, recreation, education and other programmes aimed at supporting the rehabilitation and positive development of juveniles.
The commissioner recalled an earlier engagement between the two institutions on support for the juvenile correctional facility.
She noted that the relationship was particularly significant, citing the Controller’s previous academic research at the Edo State Juvenile Facility during his doctoral studies.
Earlier, Osemwegie said the visit was aimed at establishing a sustainable institutional relationship between the NCoS and the ministry.
He stressed the importance of collaboration in achieving effective reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.
The Controller also highlighted the growing importance of non-custodial measures, including community service and suspended sentences, as modern approaches to correcting offenders, particularly first-time offenders, while reducing unnecessary pressure on custodial facilities.
Osemwegie emphasised the need for the proposed partnership to be institutionalised to ensure its sustainability beyond changes in leadership and individual tenures.
Both institutions agreed to hold follow-up technical engagements to identify priority areas, assess the needs and population of inmates, and develop a framework with clear timelines for implementation.
