Miss Chidinma Ojukwu who allegedly killed the Super TV CEO, Micheal Ataga, has been crowned “Miss Cell, 2022” at the Kirikiri correctional facility.
Thelagostimes gathered that Ojukwu, a 21-year-old student of the University of Lagos, who allegedly stabbed her victim to death in Lekki, Lagos in 2021, emerged Miss Cell 2022 in a beauty pageant organized at the correctional centre to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day.
The National Spokesperson, Nigeria Correctional Service, Francis Enobore who confirmed the development to BBC Pidgin, said Ojukwu participated in the program like every other inmate.
According to him, the beauty pageant is part of the activities the correctional services facility uses to ensure that inmates are in ‘sound and good spirit.’
“What happened is that as part of our reformation and rehabilitation programme and to also keep the inmates in a sound and good spirit, we organise a number of social engagement amongst them. Some could be recreational activities, some could be theatre work like entertainment.
“There are a number of programs that we introduced to get the inmates happy and put them in a good frame of mind. First, we ensure that while they are there, they are open to correction, second, we ensure that they are there in good spirit in order to help them kill boredom. There are so many things we do. In line with this, the officer in charge of the Kirikiri correctional facility organised some competitions among the inmates like cooking, tailoring, make-up, among others.
“These are things that will make them happy because our primary responsibility is to keep them safe and sound. That was what happened and she emerged the best in the competition. It is part of what we do. In fact, the person in charge of the Kirikiri female prison has been doing marvelously well”, he said.