Convicted armed robber, Ayi Ayittey, popularly known as Ataa Ayi, is the unofficial spokesperson for prisoners in Ghana, according to Joy Fm.

The notorious armed robber, who is serving 160 years in prison with hard labour on charges of robbery and conspiracy for robbery, is also a church leader at the Ankaful Prisons in the Central Region.

He has now surrendered himself to Jesus Christ whom he says “brought me to prison to save my life.” He maintained, “Being in the prison has transformed my life and made me see the other side of the world.

“I’ve heard a lot of my friends [armed robbers] outside are dead and gone. So as I have come to the prison I also have to think about myself and repent,” the once hardened criminal apologetically told Joy Fm during the Interior Minister, Mark Woyongo’s tour of the facility on Wednesday.

Mr Woyongo was in the region to pay a working visit to the Ankaful Prison to acquaint himself with some of the problems confronting the Prison Service as well as to interact with officers under the ministry in the region.

Ataa Ayi said he had regretted committing the crimes for which he is serving the jail term, especially after hearing of the passing away of his mother, whose funeral he was unable to attend.

“That [robbery] cannot help us; at the end of it all they will disgrace their family, themselves and their children and so I plead with them that they should all change their lives so that we will all live a better life tomorrow,” he advised other criminals.

Mr Woyongo advised the convict to continue to put up a good behaviour, and said his ministry might recommend his release from the prison.

“If you continue to be of good behaviour…we’ll make some recommendation to His Excellency for his consideration,” Mr Woyongo pledged.

Meanwhile, the Interior Minister had given the assurance that government would not neglect the welfare of prisoners, despite the offences they had committed against the state. He said government would make life better for them even in prison.

The minister also interacted with the jailed Chief Executive for Twifo Atti-Morkwa District Assembly, Bossman Osei-Hyiamang Jnr.

The DCE was last week jailed 14 days by a Cape Coast High Court for contempt.

DAILY GUIDE spotted the DCE in blue shirt and a pair of shorts like any other person—a situation which compelled most of the journalists who accompanied the Interior Minister to conclude that really the law is no respecter of persons.

In another development, the Prison Administration has now provided each prison block at the Ankaful Maximum Prisons with a tabletop telephone to enable inmates call and speak with their families and relatives at home.

This was disclosed by the Controller-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Matilda Baffour Awuah, during an interaction with the Interior Minister.

Ms Baffuor Awuah said the measure forms part of measures to totally reform the Service and avoid prison officers giving their cell phones to inmates to use for such purposes.

According to her, “this will be replicated in all prisons across the country so that inmates can also receive calls from their relatives back home.”