At least 23 inmates of the Ikoyi Prisons School on Wednesday participated in the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who monitored the examination, reported that the inmates, who turned up early, also showed enthusiasm on siting for the examination.
The Principal of the facility’s school, ASP Ibikunle Idris, told NAN that a total of 25 inmates actually registered for the examination but that 23 sat for the examination.
According to him, out of the 25 that registered, nine of them were however discharged before the date of the examination.
Idris however stated that out of the nine that were discharged before the examination, seven of them came back to the facility to join others in taking the examination.
“Two of the nine that were discharged did not show up for the examination.
“But I must say the examination is a huge success. By our judgement, it was 100 per cent hitch free.
“The systems and the backups were all working at their best and on our part, we ensured the candidates were well relaxed while they wrote the examination.
“With the level of preparations we had for them prior to this examination, we will not expect anything short of 270 and above score.
“We would want to commend some NGOs such as the Good News Baptist Church and other volunteers who joined hands with us in preparing the inmates, including our own staff and inmates. It was a joint effort,” he said.
The principal added that the Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, the former Controller of Prisons, Lagos Command, now Assistant Controller General of Prisons, Tunde Ladipo, had both showed great commitment in the overall welfare of the inmates.
“One of their cardinal focus has been to give support in the general welfare, empowerment and reformation of the inmates.
“The current Deputy Controller of the Ikoyi Prisons too, Tolu Ogunsakin, on his own, has ensured that the inmates are given the best support in a bid to ensure that they carry on with their lives successfully whenever they regained freedom,” Idris said. (NAN)