Cross River gets c’ttee on prison decongestion

Cross River State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Barr. Tanko Ashang has disclosed that the state government will soon inaugurate an amnesty committee to review cases and release prisoners on parole. He spoke when he visited the Afokang Correctional Centre in Calabar, explaining that it was aimed at decreasing the population of inmates at the […]

Cross River State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Barr. Tanko Ashang has disclosed that the state government will soon inaugurate an amnesty committee to review cases and release prisoners on parole.

He spoke when he visited the Afokang Correctional Centre in Calabar, explaining that it was aimed at decreasing the population of inmates at the Correctional Centres in the state.

He noted that the purpose of the visit was to enable him have first-hand knowledge of the centre to see how the inmates were fairing and also know the challenges they were facing.

He said the amnesty committee will have a meaningful input towards inmates’ cases, adding that the review of cases has become necessary due to the ever growing inmate population of those awaiting trial and those convicted.

Ashang said it was not enough for inmates to care for freedom but that the lessons learnt during their incarceration must be ploughed into their daily lives by educating the ignorant young ones who may be toying with their freedom, about the serenity of the law.

He urged the inmates to remain calm and show good behaviour as that would help the amnesty committee in its work.

Comptroller of the Correctional Centre Mr. Ima-Ikop Jimmy Ndaekong in his address said the Nigerian Correctional Centre Act, 2019 repealed the Nigerian Prison ACT, 2014.

He added that Section 12, Subsection 4 (a-e) states that the state comptroller shall within one week notify the chief judge of the state, attorney-general of the state, the Prerogative of Mercy Committee and the criminal justices and any other relevant body of the state where the custodian centre has exceeded inmate population.