The Deputy Comptroller and Officer in charge of Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Julius Ogueri has appealed to Lions Club and other charity organisations to donate a bus to Ikoyi prison to enable it to transport inmates to court on a daily basis.
During the recent commissioning of the renovated and equipped Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club Vocational Centre at the Ikoyi correctional facility built by the club, Ogueri lamented a situation where a vehicle coveying inmates to the court broke down on the road.
He said: “We have a lot of challenges. One is the challenge of how to convey the inmates to the courts because most of our vehicles are unserviceable. We had a situation where one of our vehicles conveying inmates to court broke down on the way, we had to look for an alternative vehicle to transport them to court. This is a security risk and embarrassing.
“The inmates want to go to court as this gives them hope of getting their freedom. The Lions Club and other charity organisations should help us with a vehicle to enable us to take the inmates to courts regularly”.
President of Ikoyi Lions Club, Lion Taiwo Raji traced the history of the project, noting that it was initially undertaken by Lion Janet Oderinde in 1994.
He named some of the equipment at the centre to include sewing machines and accessories; shoe-making machines and accessories; carpentry and furniture machines and accessories, among others.
District Governor of Lions Clubs International District 404A1, Lion Anogwi Anyanwu said the club would continue to partner with the correctional centre for more projects to benefit the inmates.
