Three inmates have regained their freedom following a visit by the Chief Judge of Kwara State, Justice Abiodun Adebara, to the Federal Correctional Center in the state.
This was stated in a statement signed by SC, Adegbulugbe Philip, Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Correctional Service, Kwara state command on Tuesday.
Adebara admitted that the facilities in the state are overcrowded and overstretched, adding that “it falls within his constitutional rights to perform jail delivery which allows him to look into cases that have stayed long in court, inmates with a terminal illness and minor offences which Community service can take care of.
The Chief Judge reviewed the number of cases and released three inmates, promising to make his visit to custodial centres for jail delivery as a continuous exercise.
He admonished the released inmates to stay off crime while thanking the authority of the Correctional Service for their support in providing an enabling environment during and after the exercise.
“The essence of our visit is to look at the inmates and see how we can reduce the congestion in these correctional homes. You know, most correctional homes are overpopulated, leading to outbreaks of diseases. Our efforts are geared towards seeing how we can release and discharge some of the inmates who have overstayed their terms.
“Assuming they have been tried and sentenced, the number of months or years they would have spent in the correctional home, even without being tried, may have already been served. In such situations, when the Chief Judge visits like this, he will discharge such a person.
Also, if we see serious health challenges in any of the inmates that could be life-threatening, we know that only a living person can stand trial in court. In such cases, we can grant terms that are not too harsh for the individual”, the chief Judge said.
The State Controller of Corrections, Danmairomu Shuaib on behalf of the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa applauded the Chief Judge and members of his entourage.
Nababa urged the released inmates to be of good conduct not to go back to crime and comply with the good norms of the society.
He, however, advised the judiciary to direct the inmates sent to the remand home to always direct them to Mandala Correctional Center which has more facilities and space than the old one at Oke Kura in Ilorin.
He said, “I have discussed with the Chief Judge during the exercise, something we have been craving for a long time—that rather than having the inmates taken to Oke-Kura by the court, they should be brought to Mandala. They were not yielding to this, possibly because of the distance or some other reason.
Maybe some of them had never been here to see the kind of facility we have. When the CJ got to this place, he was amazed and began to see reason, saying, ‘Wow, these are wonderful facilities, even better than what we have in that place.’ He made a formal pronouncement in the hall, stating that henceforth, inmates should be brought here rather than taken to Oke-Kura.”
The Chief Judge was accompanied on the visit by Justice Ibijoke Olawoyin, the State High Court Registrar, Mrs Kudirat Yahaya, and other stakeholders in the criminal justice department.
(PUNCH)