Nigeria: prison inmates seek better library facility

Inmates at the Makurdi Medium Prison, have appealed to the state and federal authorities to equip the prison library with relevant books and journals to enable them to develop themselves educationally.

They also urged the authorities to allow them access to the library of the nearby National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, Makurdi Study Centre to help them prepare and participate in literary competitions.

Provost of the inmates, Mr Philips Ugbede, made the appeal yesterday when members of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA Benue State chapter visited the prison ahead of this year’s ANA – Yusuf Ali literary awareness campaign in Benue state.

“If this is done it would create the enabling environment for inmates to develop themselves and also encourage them to showcase their potential in reading and writing,” Ugbabe said.

Earlier, the state chairman of ANA, Mr Charles Iornumbe, said they were at the Medium Prisons to sensitise the inmates on the activities of this year’s literary awareness campaign which the association was carried out in partnership with Yusuf Ali a legal luminary, to promote reading in the country.

While inviting the inmates to the year’s literary competition, Mr. Iornumbe said Benue state chapter of ANA considered the inmates as a critical part of the society who when encouraged to harness their potentials in literary creativity, could churn out wonderful books capturing their life experiences as inmates. Welcoming the association members, an Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Fidelis Ajukura who conducted ANA Benue officials round the prison facility, urged the inmates to take the association’s literary awareness campaign sensitisation seriously in order to benefit from it.

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