Ebonyi governor’s wife, Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, on Tuesday, secured the release of 41 inmates from the Abakaliki Medium Security Custodial Centre after paying their fines.

Ms Nwifuru announced the gesture when she visited the inmates and officers of the centre in Abakaliki.

The intervention was part of the activities organised by her office to celebrate Christmas.

Ms Nwifuru urged the inmates to consider their stay in the facility as their fate, urging them to turn a new leaf and repent from the crimes for which they were convicted.

The governor’s wife also donated cash to the inmates, encouraging them to take advantage of their incarceration to make a change in their lives.

She said her initiative, Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Foundation (BERWO), aims to transform lives.

She underscored the need for the inmates to imbibe good morals and shun crime for the betterment of society.

She said that her passion for assisting the vulnerable and underprivileged members of society spurred her visit to the facility.

“This is the second time BERWO is providing such a gesture to inmates in the state. We will continue to give hope to the inmates,” Ms Nwifuru said.

Ebonyi’s attorney general, Ben Odo, said there were 1,265 inmates at the centre.

Mr Odoh appealed to the federal government to complement similar efforts by decongesting the prisons.

“Some of the inmates here have stayed for years because they do not have money to pay their fines,” he said.

A 27-year-old beneficiary, Emmanuel Nwafor, said he had been in jail since August 2023.

“Hardship led me to prison. I stole a generator and was asked to pay a fine of N100,000, but I could not pay,” Mr Nwafor said.

(NAN)