Crime
Chidinma Ojukwu charged with murder of Super TV CEO, graduates from prison empowerment program
Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspect arrested in connection with the murder of Michael Ataga, CEO of Super TV, has graduated from the Onesimus Project Life Recovery pre-release empowerment programme at the Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre, Lagos.
National Daily reports that Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, is being prosecuted alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu and one Adedapo Quadri for the murder of Ataga.
However, in a recent development, Ojukwu alongside 29 male and female inmates recently completed various skill-building programmes in the initiative organised by the Prison Fellowship of Nigeria in partnership with Covenant University and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
She also recieved certificates for completing the programme, during it’s 13th graduation and 14th matriculation ceremony.
Speaking, the project coordinator Pastor Sule Bamigbola said there has been a significant progress in 2024, with 525 inmates successfully graduating and 60 others matriculating.
He added that a total of 18 male inmates graduated as well, signifying the programme’s commitment to equipping inmates for a fresh start.
“We achieved a recidivism rate of only 11 per cent, which makes this project a huge success,” he said.
Explaining what Onesimus Project signifies, Bamigbola said it is designed to shape participants into role models, equipped to share their experiences and new skills upon release.
“The essence of this project is to make graduates role models by the time they go out there, so they can tell people they’ve passed through the Onesimus Project,”Bamigbola added.
Inmates learned various vocational skills, including shoemaking, soap production, leatherworking, barbing, and farming as part of the project.
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These activities allowed them to generate income while still in custody.
“We have inmates learning shoemaking, soap-making, leatherwork, and more,”Bamigbola noted.
“While they work, we sell these products through marketers and share the earnings with the inmates,”he added.
Representing the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Mr Haliru Nababa, Deputy Controller of Corrections, and officer–in charge of Medium Kirikiri, Mr Daniel Ogu, spoke about the importance of forgiveness in rehabilitation.
“Forgiving others also releases you, allowing for personal freedom,”he said.
He commended the programme for reshaping inmates and reminded them to avoid bitterness.
Foursquare Gospel Church’s general overseer Rev Dr Sam Aboyeji was represented by Rev Dr Emmanuel Adejoro.