Prison is a place of punishment and rehabilitation
Published by Borderless Media
A prison is a place of punishment and rehabilitation. Once it becomes a place of fun, then the whole purpose is defeated. How would the family of Usifo Ataga feel to see Chidinma prancing about as a beauty queen in prison? That is unacceptable.
“Heads should roll! And if heads don’t roll, the question we must ask is whether Chidinma has a prison official zaddy who she is making very happy. Because the state of her hair, skin, the clothes she wore and her shoes are better than 99% of females that are free in the world outside prison.”
And the media should stop calling her an ‘alleged killer’. She admitted killing Usifo Ataga on camera.
“Once there is an admission, the charge is no longer alleged. It is proven. What is in doubt are the circumstances. Did she do it while under the influence of fear, or drugs, or something else which we do not as yet know? But that she did it is fact, not an allegation.”
It will be recalled that the beauty pageant was held within the NCoS’ Kirikiri facility on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
Ojukwu was said to have been crowned Miss Cell 2022.
But the NCoS Lagos State Command said the pageant was only one of several other activities organised to mark International Women’s Day (IWD).
IWD is celebrated annually on March 8, to commemorate the social, political and economic achievements of women.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Rotimi Oladokun told newsmediang that the pageant and all the other events were open to all female inmates whether convicted or awaiting trial.
Oladookun, a Superintendent, said: “I haven’t seen the pictures you are talking about. But in line with International Women’s Day, the female custodial facilities commemorated International Women’s Day with inmates, various inmates without distinction or discrimination against anybody – an inmate is an inmate.
“All the inmates in different cell blocks presented various programmes. Some did theatre presentations, others drama, some poetry, some beauty pageant, some drawings, paintings, comedy. So, various blocks won. It was just like an inter-cell block event.
“There were lots of presentations. It was not an individual thing. It was just the facility’s way of trying to reform the inmates, those still in custody.