FG prison decongestion c’ttee frees 53 inmates in Anambra, Enugu

The Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion has released 53 prison inmates in Enugu and Anambra states. The committee released 30 inmates in Enugu prisons and 23 in Anambra prisons during their visit to the states. The chairman of the committee and Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, frowned at […]

The Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion has released 53 prison inmates in Enugu and Anambra states.

The committee released 30 inmates in Enugu prisons and 23 in Anambra prisons during their visit to the states.

The chairman of the committee and Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, frowned at the practice of remand of suspects on holding charges through the magistrate courts even in cases where they lacked jurisdiction.

In a statement by the Deputy Director of Information in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Ogundoro Modupe on Sunday, the committee chairman asked the state chief judge to address the challenges to speedy trial to halt the high rate of psychosis among prisoners who had lost all hope in the system.

Justice Bello was also quoted as saying that the committee was inaugurated with the sole mandate to release inmates with an option of fine and review cases of inmates that have spent more than five years awaiting trial.

“At the Anambra Prison, a total of 23 cases where treated. Seven convicts of minor offences with option of fine were released. One of them, a 19 years SS3 student serving three years imprisonment at the Aguata Medium Security Prison, whose sentence had an option of fine, admitted to the committee that he stole money in order to pay for his exam fee,” the statement read.

“Due to the fact that he is very young and remorseful, and the fact that he was willing to return to school to write his WAEC examination, he was released. The attorney-general of the state promised that the state would pay his exam fees.”