Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
A non-government organisation, the Habibat Foundation, has handed over a mosque it constructed to the Borstal Training Institute, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
Speaking at the occasion on Saturday, the Controller of Prisons in the state, Mrs. Jemilehin Abimbola, described the donation of the Foundation as a “magnificent edifice”.
Abimbola said that the mosque would also aid the actualisation of the prisons’ statutory mandate of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration.
She stated that the Institute was the Juvenile arm of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), noting the facility in Abeokuta serves the entire Southern Nigeria.
The Prison Controller said the Institute was set up for correcting, reforming and training young offenders within the age range of 16 and 18 years.
She admonished Nigerian parents to pay closer attention to their children, as part of measures aimed at reducing every form of social vices.
Abimbola, however, said the Institute would not relent in ensuring that the right form of discipline and skills were given to the remanded wards.
In his remarks, the Ogun Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite, urged the students to take advantage of the place of worship.
He urged the students of the Institute to remain focused, saying they could still be whatever they set out to become in life.
Also speaking, the founder of the NGO, Abdul-Rasheed Ismail, said the place of worship was built in order for the kids to have a sense of purpose in life and behave properly.
“The Mosque is built so that the people can learn, pray and live decently”, he added.