The national spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Francis Enobore, has provided justification for organising a beauty pageant which saw the emergence of Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, as Miss Cell 2022.

The Star had earlier reported that Chidinma was crowned Miss Cell 2022 after she won the beauty pageant held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day.

The suspect, who is standing trial before a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, participated alongside other female inmates in the beauty pageant tagged, Miss Cell 2022.

However, the NCoS spokesman, while speaking on the reason behind the beauty contest, said the part of the services of the correctional centre is to ensure that “inmates are in sound and good spirit.”

Enobore further stated that to ensure that inmates are in a high spirit, the correctional centres engage them in exciting competitions which include pageantry, cooking competition, among others.

He said: “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.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: Alleged killer of Super TV CEO, Chidinma, crowned Miss Cell 2022

“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 marvellously well,” Daily Trust quoted Enobore as saying.

It would be recalled that the late Super TV CEO was killed on June 15, 2021, at a shortlet apartment in the Lekki area of Lagos State where he was reportedly spending a weekend with his lover, Chidinma Ojukwu.

Chidinma, a student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), had earlier confessed to have stabbed the late Super TV CEO to death before stealing his belongings but later refuted her statement claiming she returned from an errand to find him lying in a pool of his blood.

Chidinma confessed to stabbing the Super TV CEO with a knife under the influence of alcohol and withdrawing N380,000 from the victim’s account with his ATM card.

The UNILAG undergraduate, however, backtracked later in a video, exonerating herself from the murder.

The prime suspect in the murder of the Super TV CEO, who was charged before a Lagos High Court with murder, stealing and forgery alongside one Adedapo Quadri, were alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him several times with a knife in the neck and chest.

Usifo, aged 50, was, however, buried on July 30, 2021, in Lagos State.

The Star