The Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC), Nasarawa State Command, has paid the fines for five inmates in Lafia prison to secure their freedom.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that the corps donated more than N200,000 to assist patients and orphans as part of commitment to improve the lives of needy persons in the society.
Mr Bala Joshua, the state Commandant of the corps, made this known on Monday while addressing newsmen after he secured the release of the inmates and visited orphans at Gidan Bege Orphanage Home, Lafia.
Joshua said the corps donated N100,000 to Mr Peter Abashi, who fell down from an electrical poll, to defray the cost of his medical expenses.
Similarly, he said that the corps had donated a bag of rice, soap, Maggi and detergents, among other items to the orphanage home in Lafia for the orphans.
“This New Year visit started yesterday when we visited and donated N100,000 to one Mr Peter Abashi from Wakama area of the state who fell down from electrical poll since 2013 and don’t have money for his medical bill.
“Today, we deem it necessary and fit to come to the state prison yard Lafia to sympathise with the inmates and freed five of them after we have paid their fines.
“We also donated a bag of foreign rice to those yet to be released in order to better their standard of living.
“We also deem it necessary to visit the Gidan Bege Orphanage Home, Lafia to sympathise with the orphans and to donate N50,000 for their school fees, and some food items and detergents so as to give them a sense of belonging as well as to improve on their standard of living.
“We did all these gesture as part of our social responsibility to improve on the standard of living of less privileged persons in the society,” he said.
The commandant advised the inmates to be agents of change and urged them to be law abiding while in the prison and after been released in their interest.
Abashi assured of more support to the needy including patients, inmates and orphans.
He appealed to well spirited individuals to assist indigent people, saying “givers never lack’’.
He said that the command was collaborating with other security agencies to sensitise the people on the need to shun crime and other negative tendencies in the interest of peace and for the overall development of the country.
In their separate responses, Mr Musa Abubakar, Pastor Bulus Paul, the Lafia Prison Yard Guard Commandant and Director of Gidan Bege Orphanage Home, thanked the peace corps for the gesture and called for its sustenance.
NAN also reports that the released inmates are Yusuf Ibrahim, Emmanuel Joseph, Adamu Vincent, Friday Nwobodo and Samuel Edmond. (NAN)