Unfettered by prison bars: Story of Kirikiri inmates pursuing university education

Today, their faces are illumined by hope, belief and determination, a sharp contrast to the day they walked through the giant green gates of Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison that separated them from the society.

Some are dare-devil armed robbers, kidnappers or murderers serving different lengths of prison sentence, while some others still stand accused awaiting trial.

Collins Aragba is one of them. Aragba has spent over four years in prison but has not allowed the prison walls to kill his dream.

“When I saw a set of inmates during their matriculation some years back, that was when I decided to have a change and accept what is before me,” he tells BDSUNDAY.

Today, Aragba is a proud student of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), where he is studying Law. He believes he still has an important role to play in the society.

“My mistake is now my drive which I am ready to pursue with all my heart. I don’t belong here and I am aiming to be the first inmate to make a first class,” Aragba says.

Aragba says there are days when he cannot remember why he is in prison. Sometimes, he says, his crime flits in and out of his memory like flies through a hole in a screen door, and his mind and conscience go blank and clean.

“I know my case is a grave one. I have been in prison for over four years now awaiting trial. The first year was terrible for me. I had always lived a very simple but sociable life before that fateful day that changed everything about me,” he says.

Aragba had stabbed his only brother to death while trying to defend his friend on a cold evening in April 2012.

Up till the day he spoke to this reporter, he says it is difficult to remember how his hand automatically slid onto an already broken soft drink bottle during a heated argument with his only brother, who died within few minutes of the stab.

“I had never been involved in petty fight or issues to the extent of drawing blood, not to talk of killing my own blood,” he says.

“It remains one of the saddest days in my life and several times I have nursed the thought of ending it all, especially in the first year behind bars.”

When BDSUNDAY visited the community where Aragba grew up, his friends and family said they were still shocked that a person as sociable and friendly to all as Aragba could kill his only brother.

Doyin Alabadun, a childhood friend, described him as one of the coolest friends he had growing up.

“He jokes a lot and loves video games. He has no problems with people. Till today, I still can’t believe he is away from us for such a crime,” Alabadun said.

Although Aragba’s mind still drifts back to the event, he says embracing his studies has given him hope of a better tomorrow.

But he is not the only one chasing his dreams. Figures from the Nigeria Prison Service show that 430 inmates are currently undergoing various degree programmes with the National Open University of Nigeria in eight Prisons Special Study Centre spread across the country.

During the university’s last convocation, two prisoners graduated from Enugu Study Centre, Enugu Prison.

One of the students, Chukwunonso Nomeh, emerged the overall best post-graduate student of the Open University.

At Kirikiri Prison in Lagos, Patrick Kolawole, an inmate who has spent five years as the time this report was filed in, is also reading Law.

The 42-year-old Kolawole says when he looks back at his past life and what it is now, it is like a dream.

“I could not stop admiring my academic gown the very first day I wore it. I had lost hope totally,” Kolawole says.

“While growing up I had the dream of being a lawyer before I was lured into crime. Thank God for the opportunity, being behind bars notwithstanding,” he says.

Augustine Opara, another inmate in Kirikiri Prison, says he still cannot believe he is chasing his dream.

He says he is in prison due to the bad company he had kept over seven years ago.

“I made bad friends and fell into bad company during my secondary school days. I was very good in Mathematics and was even offered admission to study Mathematics 12 years ago in one of the universities. Most of my old friends were killed when we were caught in one of our ugly acts,” Opara says.

“I regret my past and have prayed for another opportunity. Studying in National Open University has given me new breath of life. I believe after I leave the prison, I will be a better citizen. I hope the society accepts me back,” he says.

Another student, Sopuruchi Obed, who is studying Christian Theology, says he regrets the time he had spent with the wrong set of people in the past.

“I love my present me. I feel so determined to become a change agent,” he says.

 

David Ibemere