Anglican Communion fetes Nnewi Prison inmates

When recently the Nnewi diocese of the Anglican church marked the Fathers’ Sunday, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. (Prof) G.I.N. Okpala,  bishop of the Diocese, used the day to embark upon an Episcopal visitation to the Nigerian prison in Nnewi.
The visitation which was officiated by the bishop himself accompanied by  many priests in the Nnewi diocese and some parishioners witnessed showers of donations of various items, including cash to make life more meaningful to the prison inmates and to partner with the prison authorities.
During the Holy Communion service, Bishop Okpala delivered his homily which content provoked tears amongst the priests, parishioners and the inmates alike, especially when he mentioned cash payment by the church to effect the release of some discharged prisoners who could not go because of their inability to pay the court fines.
“We are in a world where darkness rises against light, wickedness tries to swallow righteousness, and inordinate ambition holds sway and thrives. We hear all kinds of evil stories today about robbery, kidnapping, murder, child trafficking and so on that sometimes we begin to confirm that these things indicate the last days the Bible talked about in Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 to 5 are here. There is no peace anywhere, even in our homes. Parents are at war with their children, children are at daggers-drawn within themselves. There are strange deaths and fears occasioned by illicit activities among family or kins group,” the bishop said.
He wondered why the ugly scenario was ravaging human unity and enjoinment inspite of the fact that God created the world for humans to live and enjoy and “providing us with good things to celebrate our lives with.”
The bishop noted that the issue was that people had rejected God and His commands, upon which His kingdom would reign on earth as in heaven.
He said it was disturbing that today people indulged in acts without weighing the consenquencies, adding that people did not respect other people’s lives and treated their fellow beings as if they were mere lower animals.
To many, he said, human rights was a vague emphasis and therefore their becoming wolves to others.
He said beside that the Bible is a guide on how to live together as brothers and sisters, there are constitutions and bye-laws drawn by the government, communities, groups and families, “yet people do not have regard to keep them.”
He said whatever one did would attract reward, whether good or bad deed, adding that punishments were prescribed for all categories of misdoings or crime while “some of our brothers and sisters in this enclave (prison) are here because of one mistake or wrong, or the other.”
Bishop Okpala named an Anglican chapel of hope at the prison which he said meant there was hope for the inmates there after serving their sentence.
According to the bishop, the inmates had earlier been given copies of the Holy Bible through the church’s Chaplain, Rev (Dr) Alex Ijeh to help them return to the ways of righteousness.
He said that the church prayed that the in-mates would be born again so that they could easily be assimilated into the society when they eventually regained their freedom.
He said the church appreciated the enormous work of reforms being carried out at the Nnewi Prison by the members of staff of the yard, different religious bodies that had the opportunity of coming to conduct their worships with the inmates and staffers.
He also announced donations to the inmates and partnership with the government and prison authorities.
His words: “We in the Diocese of Nnewi want to partner with the government and prisons’ authorities to make life more meaningful to you all by providing your chapel with the following: 100 plastic chairs; musical instruments; public address system (wireless); connecting the chapel to the electricity source; holy communion books (English and Igbo); and lectern. We are giving you also 100 pairs of slippers, 100 pieces of blanket, toilet and laundry soaps, tissues, detergents and disinfectant. We are giving all the inmates a sum of money each and the staff which I will not mention.
“We are paying the fines imposed on Mr Peter Mbah (N200,000), Michael Asuoba (24,000), and Kingsley Izukanne (N300,000), to secure their releases. We implore the prison officials whose duties it is to process their immediate releases to please help.”
Also speaking, the Secretary General of the Diocese of Nnewi, Venerable (Dr) Godwin Agba appealed to public-spirited individuals, non-governmental organizations and other religious organizations to always remember to contribute meaningfully to the upkeep of the prisons inmates not just in Nnewi but across the country.
He said that it was the duty of everyone to see to their proper reformation by way of contributing positively, both materially and spiritually, “so that when they are eventually released they could be easily assimilated.”
Responding, the Assistant Controller of Prisons in-charge of Nnewi Prison, Mr Obizue N. Valins, said that the contributions and donations of the Anglican Communion in Nnewi to the prison had fortified them the more to achieve the purpose for which the prison was set up.
Mr Valins said the total number of the inmates in the prison was 103, having in August 2014 received a total number of 187 inmates and was able to facilitate the bail and release of about 84 of them, which was “made possible through the assistance of good-spirited individuals, the church and groups.”