From Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The 8th edition of Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe Outreach has celebrated the 2025 World Human Rights Day with the inmates of the Medium Security Custodian Correctional Center Okaka in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital as a way of showing care to them.
For the past seven years, the Outreach have been taken to different bayelsa towns and villages delivering free medical cares to the people of those communities and there surrounding areas.
The medical outreach was carried out by Family Care Hospital in collaboration with Prof. Seiyefa Outreach which is a Non Governmental Organization of Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe in partnership with Nigerian Bar Association Yenagoa branch and International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) to delivered medical outreach to the inmates to mark the occasion of World Human Rights Day 2025
Speaking with journalists during the event, Dr. Oweidonbra Terra a Medical Doctor and one of those that carried out the medical outreach at the Nigerian Correctional Center Okaka said, they were in the Correctional Center to give medical treatment to inmates as a way of given back to the society.
According to him, they decided to take this edition to the Correctional Center in Okaka to mark the Human Rights Day 2025. “Prof. Seiyefa has actually touch a lot of lives because when we go out on this Outreaches, people get treated, consumables were giving to the facilities, medicine giving to the clinic, eye test were done among others”.
In this particular occasion, we even went with X-ray machine, those that were suspected of pulmomary TB were diagnosed on the spot and x-ray were carried out on their chest, other screening investigations were done as well , including retroviral and malaria and other screening were done.
“It was a very wide reach, a lot of persons were touch and a lot of cases were treated. There were about 16 medical cases that were presented to the medical team and we were able to take care of all of them.
“Referral were made for those that requires referral and like every other one, at the end of the outreach all the medicines and other consumables that were carried by the team were donated to the Correctional Center to their clinic for further use.
“A total of 200 inmates were attended to by the team and spoke with the nurse in charge that there would be follow-up on some of the cases and for those who have positive results from there TB we have a follow-up for those persons.
“The inmates who were the primary beneficiaries of this outreach were very happy, it’s been a while according to some of them who spoke with us to have such care from outside and that it’s an opportunity to be treated by full medical team, doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientist were all there to give them an adequate care and they were really happy to have that attention from private individuals and the Nigerian Bar Association coming together to deliver this.
“A lot of them were really thankful to the organizer of the medical outreach and I must say that it was a fulfilling day for most of them”, he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of Bayelsa state Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Clement Bibisa Kekemeke Esq said they were in the Correctional Center in commemoration of World Human Rights Day 2025, saying it is in partnership with NBA Yenagoa branch, family care hospital and FIDA. “we have come to Sensitise inmates here in this correctional center that been an inmate here is not the end of the World, that it doesn’t mean that they will be subjected to indignity.
They have their fundamental rights as other person can. Today is special because we are doing what we have not been doing regularly . The partnership is important because the mental health, physical health of all the inmates is also important . Family Care is the major sponsor of the event”.
On her part, the chair person of FIDA bayelsa state branch Dr. Boma Miebai Esq, said they in the Correctional Center to sensitise them on their rights been members of humanity and that their rights is still preserve under the law and their rights should be protected under the law. We are here to spotlight their rights within the facility and to throw light around issues of access to social justice .
Speaking during the event, ASC 1 David Odoki, the Welfare Officer in charge of the Medium Custodian Correctional Center Okaka Yenagoa bayelsa state said, he feel very happy because this items they have brought will help to alleviate the plights of the inmates. “The food items they brought will be shared to them . For the medical aspect of it, sometimes we do have so many that are sick here and the facilities we have cannot at the same time take care of everyone, but this
medical outreach has added value to our facilities”.
