Sixty-one inmates serving various sentences at the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kurmawa, Kano, have completed the full memorisation and recitation of the Holy Qur'an, in what officials have described as a landmark achievement for faith-based rehabilitation in Nigeria's correctional system.
Inmates Achieve Full Qur'an Memorisation
The graduating cohort consists of 55 male and six female inmates. According to Kano State Command spokesman CSC Musbahu Lawan Kofar Nasarawa, the majority of the graduates had little or no Qur'anic background before their incarceration, but attained full memorisation through structured religious instruction, personal discipline and sustained commitment over the course of the programme.
Kofar Nasarawa said the achievement demonstrates the power of faith-driven rehabilitation and reflects the Service's obligations under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, which mandates the reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates as core institutional goals.
Welfare Packages and Ceremony
To mark the occasion, the Nigerian Correctional Service, working alongside a non-governmental organisation, presented each graduate with a welfare package containing new clothing, mattresses, blankets and financial support, intended to ease their eventual return to civilian life.
The Controller of Corrections for Kano State Command, Ahmed Yusuf Lakpene, used the ceremony to commend the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, for driving educational, vocational and moral programmes across custodial centres nationwide. Lakpene said such programmes are vital in preparing inmates to re-enter society as productive and law-abiding citizens.
The District Head of Kawaji and Dan Ruwatan Kano, Alhaji Ibrahim Ado Bayero, presented certificates to all 61 graduating inmates at the ceremony.
Community and Official Support
Educationist Professor Aliyu Harun praised the command's sustained focus on meaningful rehabilitation, saying the initiatives would help reposition inmates as responsible members of the community upon release.
The Chairperson of the Kano State Prerogative of Mercy Committee, Hajiya Azumi Namadi Bebeji, reaffirmed the state government's commitment to inmate welfare and praised Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for his continued support of correctional programmes across the state.
The custodial chaplain, DSC Mohd Alkanawy, and Chief Imam Nasiru Abdu both urged the graduates to carry forward the spiritual discipline and moral values they acquired during the programme into their lives beyond the custodial centre.
