The Kaduna State Government has commenced the direct disbursement of N100,000 each to 97 former prison inmates recently granted executive clemency by Governor Uba Sani.
Officials carried out the financial payouts on Friday at the Kaduna Medium Security Custodial Centre to help the beneficiaries seamlessly integrate back into their communities.
The intervention directly fulfills a pledge made by the governor on June 12, when the inmates were officially freed to mark Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebrations.
The state government utilized the governor’s constitutional prerogative of mercy to secure their release, while also completely settling outstanding court fines for several individuals.
Assistant Controller of the custodial centre, Dalhat Ibrahim, praised the financial aid as a significant boost to ongoing correctional rehabilitation programs.
“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,” Ibrahim remarked.
The prison official urged the ex-inmates to immediately utilize the funds as startup capital for legitimate micro-businesses instead of slipping back into a life of crime.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Protocol, Mohammed Suleiman, confirmed during the visit that the cash rollout marks the final phase of the state’s holiday clemency project.
“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 stated.
Chuks Solomon, a grateful beneficiary from Ebonyi State, thanked the governor on behalf of the group, stating the timely funds would give many of them a realistic chance to rebuild their lives.
