Stigmatisation has been identified as a major setback in the efforts to reintegrate ex-convicts into the society after regaining freedom.
The assertion was made by the Executive Director of an NGO, Heart That Truly Cares (HTTC), Josephine Alexander Ibinola who stressed that what such people need is care, geninue love, encouragement and counselling.
She therefore urged Nigerians to stop stigmatisation of the ex-convicts after they might have regained freedom from the prisons in order not to drag them into committing another crime that will send them back to jail.
The HTTC ED was answering questions from Journalists on Saturday, shortly after her NGO in collaboration with Rotary Club of Bauchi Central, Alwadata Lifeline Initiative (ALLI) and Atta Sister Helping Hand (ASHH) Foundation pulled resources together to pay various sums as fines to secure the release of 21 convicts.
Josephine Ibinola said that, “HTTC did 95% of the project. We visited the Correctional Centre to do a needs assessment and when we discovered that we could not do it alone, we had to pull resources together. We are all Rotarians so it was easy to come together for the project.”
She added that, “When we came, we discovered that some of them are held for small fine. We have some of them that are in jail for inability to as small as N10,000 and even N5,000.”
She added that, “We were able to pay about N700,000 for 21 inmates. We also donated items like; plates, shoes, toiletries, buckets, Holy Qur’an, Holy Bibles, praying mats, towels and more.”
She explained that the settling of the various fines for the 21 convicts cost above N700000 stressing however that it was worth it as the people can once again breathe the air of freedom.
According to her, “We have discovered that the main issue that is militating against the rehabilitation and resettlement of ex-convicts is stigmatisation by the society. They are seen as castaways, people who should not be seen interacting with others.”
Though She agreed that some of them are hard and their incarceration was a relief to the family, “We cannot just push them away. We need to show them some love and encourage them to become better and responsible members of the society.”
Shen assured that HTTC will continue to partner with relevant organisations and support efforts that will make a better society which is the main focus of the NGO.
