“No person was ever honoured by what he receives but by what he gave” – Carvin Coolidge
*Photo: Ja’afaru Ahmed *
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) as one of the security agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior is essentially charged with the statutory responsibility of keeping in safe custody those legally interned for reformation and rehabilitation. The appointment of Ja’afaru Ahmed as the Comptroller-General of Corrections on the 17th of May, 2016 by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has no doubt brought a lot of improvements to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Ahmed, the immediate past CG of NCoS honoured with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) by President Buhari, was born on 21st July 1959 in Kebbi. He had his early education in Kebbi and Sokoto States before proceeding to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he obtained his B. A (Hons) in History in 1984. After a stint in teaching, he enlisted into the Nigerian Correctional Service, then Nigerian Prisons Service in 1989 as Superintendent of Prisons and rose through the ranks, attending all prerequisite courses and heading various stations and Commands with exceptional performance.
At the helms of affairs, Ahmed relentlessly and successfully championed several reform programmes which for a long time to come, will certainly remain indelible in the annals of the the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Some of the landmark achievements recorded under his leadership include Infrastructural Upgrade to address overcrowding especially the construction of the now celebrated 3,000-Capacity Custodial Centres, one in each Geo-Political Zone among which are Janguza; Kano State, Karshi; in the FCT and Bori in Rivers state. There was also massive construction of new cell blocks, renovation of old ones and other projects in various formations and Custodial Centres across the country to create conducive environment for inmates, opening and rehabilitating thirty-two (32) Satellite Custodial Centres previously shut down due to insurgency, initiated a total of 622 projects and completed 462 located across the States.
For logistics, the NCoS under Ahmed procured about 400 vehicles including court duty vehicles to improve access to justice, sewage trucks to improve sanitation; ambulances to bring healthcare services closer to the inmates; operational vehicles, water tankers to secure potable water and robust healthcare and inmates welfare. He also embarked on the procurement of large cache of assorted drugs and distribution to Custodial Centres; renovation of Hospitals and Clinics across the country; renovation and upgrade of Henry Akingba Medical Centre at the Corrections National Headquarters Abuja. Consequently, the Centre has been enlisted and approved as a Service Provider in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Large quantities of inmates’ uniforms, beds/beddings and associated stores were also procured and distributed to various Custodial Centres;
Ahmed’s tenure saw the commencement of production of some drugs and table water at the Corrections Drug and Research Centre, Kuje, Abuja to improve access to quality drugs. Of significant recognition is his ingenuity in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic from entering any custodial centre hence, zero case of the disease was recorded.
Under his leadership, there was sustenance of fruitful partnership with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) resulting in increase in inmates’ enrolment into NOUN programmes in Custodial Facilities across the country, synergy with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) earned the Service a fully equipped JAMB Examination Centre at the Borstal Training Institute in Kaduna. Other educational packages such as Adult Literacy Classes, SSCE, JSSCE, NECO and NABTEB Centres were expanded. Additional vocational workshops were built and equipped for different trades such as welding, weaving, masonry, furniture, tailoring, barbing, etc. On discharge, trained inmates were issued start-up tools for proper integration and economic empowerment.
Between 2016 and 2021, many inmates accessed various formal and informal educational opportunities. Twenty-three (23) inmates commenced their Post Graduate Programmes comprising:
One (1) for PhD Programme;
Sixteen (16) for Masters Programmes;
Six (6) for Post Graduate Diploma Programmes. Four hundred and sixty-five (465) inmates were undergoing various under graduate Programmes in Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution; Criminology & Security Studies, Political Science, Law, etc.
Ahmed’s unique approach to offenders’ rehabilitation caught the attention of both national and international communities thus, the Service for the first time, won the following awards among others. The Superior Achievement in Branding Reputation and Engineering (SABRE) Award on Public Education given on the 10th of May, 2018 in Gaborone, Botswana, Certificate of Excellence on Public Sector Government (Prison Decongestion Tackling the Plight of Awaiting Trial Persons) awarded by Holmes Report –Gaborone, Botswana on 10th May, 2018; 2018 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Confucius Prize for Literacy and Skills Development – Paris, France on 7th September, 2018, International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award (GWA) on Crisis Management for Media Campaign on Prison Decongestion and Plight of Awaiting Trial Inmates – Barcelona, Spain, 19th October 2018.
For staff welfare, over 25,000 personnel stagnated for more than ten (10) years on one rank were promoted and for the first time in many years, uniforms and accompanying accoutrements including service shoes were procured and freely distributed to junior officers. New Barracks and offices were built in a number of formations, while some existing ones were renovated. The Service’s Reward Fund was resuscitated to reward outstanding members of staff across formations. Other staff welfare-oriented schemes such as Corrections Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society; Corrections Welfare and Insurance Scheme (CWIS); and the Corrections Micro-Finance Banks were repositioned for optimum productivity.
Also in the area of capacity building, 11,037 officers and were trained in various training institutions in Nigeria. New courses to enable personnel discharge their assigned responsibilities effectively were introduced to training scheme. These include Drivers and Orderlies Course, Welfare Officers’ Course, Record Officers’ Course and Parade Masters’ Course. There was renovation and rehabilitation of Prisons Training Institutions across the country and restoration of discipline to promote sound ethics and good service delivery.
Perhaps the most outstanding is that Ja’afaru Ahmed, OFR successfully midwife the transition from Nigerian Prisons Service to Nigerian Correctional Service thus, breaking the barrier that kept the bill hanging in the National Assembly for eleven (11) years. The beauty of the new Act is the provisions to address perennial overcrowding, including accommodation for non-custodial measures to treat minor infractions. The overall effect of these far-reaching reforms is improved conditions of Custodial Centres and cessation of jailbreaks while he superintended over the Service.
Just as Charlie Finley said, “Sweat plus sacrifice equals success” and Ralph Nader added that “The true function of true leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers”, Jafaru Ahmed OFR has left his marks on the sands of time and his achievements will forever speak for him.