NIPSS’ Participants Facilitate Release Of 21 Inmates In Plateau

Participants of the Senior Executive Course 47 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, at the weekend paid the fines for the release of 21 inmates from various custodial centres across Plateau State as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The intervention, which involved the payment of fines amounting to nearly N2 million, aimed to decongest custodial facilities and support indigent inmates who had been convicted but could not afford to pay their court-imposed fines.

The beneficiaries comprised individuals convicted of minor, non-violent offences, such as petty misdemeanours and infractions that were civil rather than criminal in nature.

The formal release ceremony took place at the Jos Custodial Centre and was attended by officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), representatives of the NIPSS, and members of the media.

The Controller of Correctional Service, Plateau State Command, Mr Ezekiel M. Kagah, commended the participants for their humanitarian gesture, describing it as a meaningful contribution to national efforts at decongesting correctional centres.

He explained that the affected inmates were not hardened offenders but individuals whose continued detention was solely due to their inability to pay minimal fines.

He added that the intervention reflects an appreciation of the correctional service’s broader goal of rehabilitation and reintegration rather than mere incarceration.

Meanwhile, the Monitor General of Senior Executive Course 47, Colonel Mukhtar Daroda, noted that the project represents a collective commitment by course participants to apply leadership to social impact.

He explained that the initiative demonstrates empathy in action – an essential value of NIPSS training – and reinforces the belief that leadership must restore hope, uphold justice, and advance human dignity.

The director general of NIPSS, Professor Ayo Omotayo, said the initiative is part of efforts to institutionalise social impact and empathy-driven leadership among course participants.