By Ahmad Umar
Gombe (Nigeria) – Gombe Renaissance Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation has secured the release of 17 prison inmates at the Gombe Main Prisons, north east of the country after payment of fines.
The President of the Group, Salisu Abubakar who was represented by Umar Adamu, of the Department of Public Administration, Gombe State University disclosed this to Journalists in Gombe shortly after the release.
He said the organisation would continue to contribute its quota to fostering unity and mutual assistance to the less privileged
Abubakar said that the inmates were jailed for minor offences and could not pay option of fine adding that Gombe Renaissance Initiative paid their fines between N3,000 and N10, 000, as well as compensation between N5,000 and N15,000 for offences ranging from loitering to stealing.
“They could not pay their fines because they were poor and helpless and were mostly youths ranging between 18-30. They included Suleiman Umar Gurama 22, Ibrahim Musa 20, Muhammad Auwal 27, Abubakar Musa 20, Ibrahim Dauda 20, Faisal Inusa 25, Ali Adamu 18 and Adamu Abubakar 20, just to mention but few.
“Many people serving jail terms in prisons across the country were often youths who were detained as a result of their inability to pay a little fine in that regard GRI’s passion for the youth of Gombe State and the country at large encouraged the organisation to provide a better life for the people and hence secure good future for them”, the President explained.
He expressed shock at the number of youths found in the prison and therefore charged them to turn a new page after their freedom for a better life.
Abubakar further stated that Gombe Renaissance Initiative has a passion for the youths not only in Gombe State but across the country. “Many of the youths across Nigeria are victims of circumstances, sometimes for no faults of theirs”
“Some of the youths who are jailed in Gombe Prison are not able to be freed due to the lingering poverty in the country. So our mission is mainly to do as much as we can to help them out, if possible put them on the right track in one way or the other so that they do not go back in to their previous condition”, he said.
He also commended the cordial relationship demonstrated by officers in charge of Gombe prison and the representatives of GRI.
Also speaking, Adamu Ahmed of the Sociology Department, Gombe State University called on the released inmates to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and urged them to become useful to their various communities.
His words: Our problems as a community are that, whenever one is convicted and jailed, people will be seeing him as problem to the entire community and he will become stigmatized, sometimes he may be denied of many rights and opportunities, I urged the general public to relate with the ex-convicts in a good manner”.
In a remark, a traditional title holder, the Durbin Gombe, Lamido Abubakar said Gombe Renaissance Initiative has touched the area needed to be emulated by other NGOs, Individuals as well as the government to decongest prisons .
“Government should create employment for the youths and establish vocational centres to end idleness in Nigeria”, he added.
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2016/11/05/rights/nigeria-prisoners-awaiting-trial-outnumber-convicted-inmates-in-kaduna-prison/
