Reaction Trails Participation Of Murder Suspect, Chidinma, In Prison Beauty Pageant

By Akinwale Kasali

The Nigeria Prison Service has received knocks and flaks over the participation and emergence of Chidinma Ojukwu, the murder suspect of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, as Miss Cell 2022.

At the Beauty Pageant held on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 at Kirikiri Female Prison to mark the International Women’s Day 2022, Chidinma emerged as the Most Beautiful Girl. This has however generated controversy from different quarters.

Some have queried why the murder Suspect who is still standing trial should be allowed to participate in such competition following the alleged crime committed by the 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG.

Others have also queried that Chidinma was yet to be convicted of the crime, as she is till a suspect, making her participation in the Prison Beauty Pageant  condemnable

Chidinma had defeated other inmates at its facilities to the beauty pageant in grand style.

Pictures from the pageant flooded social media  Wednesday and sent tongues wagging on the propriety or otherwise of allowing non-convicts such as Miss Ojukwu to participate in the event.

Reacting to the deluge of flaks and criticism, the Centre’s Public Relations Officer, Rotimi Oladokun, said that the pageant and all the other events were open to all female inmates, whether convicted or awaiting trial.

Oladokun, a Superintendent, said: “I haven’t seen the pictures you are talking about. But in line with International Women’s Day, the female custodial facilities commemorated International Women’s Day with inmates, various inmates without distinction or discrimination against anybody – an inmate is an inmate.

“All the inmates in different cell blocks presented various programmes. Some did theatre presentations, others drama, some poetry, some beauty pageant, some drawings, paintings, comedy. So, various blocks won. It was just like an inter-cell block event.

“There were lots of presentations. It was not an individual thing. It was just the facility’s way of trying to reform the inmates, those still in custody.

“So, that’s why they commemorated International Women’s Day, that’s why it was done in the female facility, not the male’s”.

Stressing further on Chidinma’s participation, the spokesman said: “The particular inmate, I don’t know her name, There were various winners.

“The costumes were made by the inmates in the facility and some of the winners got sponsorship to pay for their UME forms, NECO, WASSCE and higher education.

“Some donated libraries to us, apart from some other stationery, and welfare resources. It was not an individual event, so the prizes were collective.”

He further explained that Chidinma could have been a representative of a block.

“There were representatives for each block, so maybe the inmate you are referring to was one of such representatives, but it was not an individual event, it was a collective one commemorating International Women’s Day,” Oladokun stated.