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The Head of Department, Prison Ministry, Citadel Global Community Church, Babafemi Famuyide, has said that providing temporary homes for inmates leaving correctional centres can help to reduce recidivism.
Famuyide said this in an interview with our correspondent, emphasising that such an initiative being considered by the church is crucial to reintegrating ex-inmates into society.
He explained that the prison ministry of the church has been in existence for almost 34 years and was started by the Serving Overseer, Dr. Tunde Bakare.
“Ever since, God has helped us to be able to touch a lot of lives and to also play our part in bringing about reforms,” he said.
Emphasising the ministry’s affiliation with the Prison Fellowship of Nigeria, he said, “We’ve had the privilege of serving in different capacities at that level. And God has helped us to be able to do as much as we can in touching the lives of inmates.”
Explaining that the issue of recidivism was a major challenge confronting the ministry, he explained how this could be curbed by the provision of temporary shelter for ex-inmates.
Famuyide said, “There are some of these inmates that come out, some of them probably are not stationed in Lagos. So once they come out like that, they have to go back to their respective states or wherever it is they came from.
“So, once they come out like that, many of them don’t have where to go. Some of them are rejected by family members. And so, there’s that gap that needs to be filled. And, you know, when you have worked with someone while the person was in the correctional facility, and then upon coming out, you know he does not have a stable place to be.”
He said the church was therefore planning to key into the idea of a “halfway home” project.
“So, the halfway home (project) is basically a stopgap that allows those who leave prison to have a place to stay. And, you know, they stay there for some time.
“When they are brought in, they are taken care of, they are given the proper encouragement, skill, and the support that they need before they are reintegrated back into society.
“So, it’s just like a home for them, a stopgap for them pending when they can eventually be able to stand on their own and then make a proper living for themselves. So, that’s what a halfway home is. It’s just a stopgap where they can be taken care of.
“Before they are properly integrated back into society, they take care of their psychological, spiritual, and physical needs, and ensure that if possible, they learn a skill or something that will be useful to them so they can start something meaningful with their lives.”
He explained that not all inmates are criminals, noting that some of them ended up in jail for various reasons, including “crimes that they don’t know about.”
He added, “But be that as it may, our assignment and desire is to see lives transformed. Whether or not you committed a crime, our assignment is to introduce Jesus to you because he’s the first and foremost. He’s the one who can truly change the life of any man. And so, in bringing the gospel to them, we also use the opportunity to meet their welfare needs as much as we can.
“So we work with them, especially those of them who show an interest in the message we bring to them within the four walls of the correctional facilities. For such people, we walk them through and even follow some of them to court sometimes, follow up with their cases, and reach out to their family members. All is in the bid to ensure that they are properly reintegrated into society and reconciled with their families.”
Last November, the Executive Director, Centre for Legal Support and Inmate Rehabilitation, Joke Aladesanmi, unveiled a halfway home for post-incarcerated women in Lagos State.
At an event tagged “Bridging the Cycle of Post-Incarceration Relapse: Halfway Home as an Empowering Reintegration Strategy,” held in Lagos, Aladesanmi said the safe home was a way of providing support and help to women who had been incarcerated to help them reintegrate into society.
Explaining that the church was keying into this idea, Famuyide said, “We are just trusting God that very soon, we’ll be able to set up something of such nature. It’s very helpful and needful if we are going to reduce this issue of recidivism. Because once they come out like that, they are not sure of what they are going to meet in society, which often pushes some of them away.
“Once they are rejected or they are stigmatised, and they have people who are willing to take them in, who probably are also criminals, they go back to their former way of life and end up getting back into the prison.”
