Mr. Chinwendu Heart, a prisoner of the Nigerian Correctional Service at the Kuje Custodial Center, received a Second Class Upper degree in Theological Studies from the National Open University of Nigeria.
This was said in a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by Mr. Chukwuedo Humphrey, Public Relations Officer for the Federal Capital Territory Command.
Humphrey cited Dr. Angela Okpala, NOUN's librarian, as saying that the graduate should serve as a good representative of both the university and the penal system when she handed the certificate on Tuesday.
The prisoner has demonstrated exceptional character over time, according to Mr. Ibrahim Shehu, the officer in charge of Kuje Custodial Center, who spoke out.
"The prisoner has always been a diligent student and has had an outstanding life in prison,"
Shehu urged the other prisoners to take advantage of the free education provided by NOUN no longer and to better themselves, noting that education was the cornerstone of human advancement.
Heart, the graduate, expressed his satisfaction and revealed that he had entered the Kuje Custody Center without a secondary school diploma.
Heart stated that he had now earned a university degree thanks to the staff's support and that he intended to take advantage of NOUN's offer to use the money toward a PhD.
In addition, he urged the other prisoners to participate in the custodial center's reform programmes rather than sit around and indulge in vices.
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