The National Orientation Agency in Kebbi, on Tuesday, conducted a capacity-building workshop for officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service on national values, identity and service delivery enhancement.

Declaring the training open in Birnin Kebbi, the NOA state director, Nasir Karofi, said the programme was designed to integrate core Nigerian values into correctional service operations.

Mr Karofi explained that the training, anchored on the Nigerian Identity Project, the Staff Orientation Handbook and the Value Integration Guide, sought to restore foundational national values within security institutions and strengthen their role in nation-building.

“The intervention is expected to promote fairness, dignity, unity and responsible citizenship among officers as well as inmates,” he said.

Mr Karofi said the National Values Charter, which outlined the social contract between government and citizens,  “provides key pillars: the ‘Nigeria Promise’ and the ‘Citizen Codes,’ both of which are applicable to correctional service settings”.

Mr Karofi noted that the charter underscored equality, non-discrimination, transparency, due process, prudent management of resources and accountability, which were essential in the management of inmates.

“Correctional facilities must operate within legal and ethical standards. Inmates deserve fair treatment and equal access to programmes that support their rehabilitation,” he said.

He stressed the need to empower inmates through vocational and educational training to improve their chances of securing employment after release, thereby reducing recidivism. He added that maintaining order in custodial centres required respect, tolerance and fairness, which would help prevent violence and create a constructive environment for reform.

Mr Karofi identified duty of care, leadership, accountability, resilience and respect for diversity as essential values that officers must uphold in the discharge of their duties.

The one-day training, he said, aligned with the agency’s mandate to promote patriotism, strengthen national cohesion and foster behavioural change across institutions.

(NAN)