21 Inmates Of Bauchi Prison Set Free Courtesy Of Rotary, Some NGOs

…Donate food, other items to inmates

BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Reprieve came the way of 21 inmates of the Bauchi Correctional Centre as the Rotary Club of Bauchi Central on Saturday led other organizations that include Heart That Truly Cares (HTTC), Alwadata Lifeline Initiative (ALLI) and Atta Sisters Helping Hand (ASHH) Foundation to secure their release.

The organizations also donated some items to the entire inmates of the Centre during which they counselled them not to lose hope of regaining freedom and becoming useful members of the society.

Specifically, the coalition paid various fines for the 21 inmates made up of 20 male and one female who were convicted for various minor offences but could not afford to pay the option of fines ordered by the Courts.

Speaking shortly after the presentation of the items, President of Rotary Club of Bauchi Central, Rotarian Pam Dauda, said that the Club collaborated with the NGOs in order to achieve the set objectives.

Dauda said that Rotary Club as humanitarian organization is interested in the wellbeing and peace of the people, adding that that was why it collaborated with like-minded organisations to better the lives of the people.

The Rotary President further said that the partnership succeeded in raising the needed amount spent for the payment of the fines as well as the purchase of the items donated to the inmates.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of Heart That Truly Cares (HTTC), Josephine Ibinola said that as Rotarians, their resolve is to make life better for all manner of people.

According to Ibinola; “We discovered during our visits before today that some of the inmates can become better people outside the walls of the Correctional Centre. We then decided to pay the various fines for 21 of them.

“We spent over N700,000 to settle the fines aside from the other items we brought for them, at least to make life in the Correctional Centre bearable for them,” she said.

Speaking in turn, Winifred Robinson, Executive Director of Alwadata Lifeline Initiative (ALLI) said her NGO contributed disposable sanitary pads for use by the female inmates considering the condition they found themselves in which may make it difficult for them to get such pads during their monthly flow.

Robinson said that as a woman, the need for hygiene during the monthly flow cannot be overemphasized, adding that the more reason her NGO supported the initiative to visit the Centre.

The items donated to the inmates based on the needs assessment conducted included religious books, copies of Qur’an, Bibles and other devotionals, eating plates, rubber buckets, mats, clothings, packets of maggi, sanitary pads and food items.

Some of the freed inmates expressed appreciation to Rotary, HTTC and ALLI for coming to their aid at the most precious time in their lives, saying that without the intervention, they would have been left with no option than to serve their various sentences.