Pastor pays bail for Muslim prison inmates
The cleric said he decided to pay the fines of the inmates to enable them perform the Ramadan fast with ease. It was gathered that most of the prisoners who benefited from Pastor Buru’s Ramadan largesse had been languishing in prison custody for months over minor offences bordering on cheating and petty thefts. Our correspondent […]
The cleric said he decided to pay the fines of the inmates to enable them perform the Ramadan fast with ease.
It was gathered that most of the prisoners who benefited from Pastor Buru’s Ramadan largesse had been languishing in prison custody for months over minor offences bordering on cheating and petty thefts.
Our correspondent reports that the inmates regained their freedom following the payment of fines amounting to N225,000 by the pastor who is the Gene-ral Overseer of the Christ Evangelical and Intercessory Fellowship Ministries, Sabon Tasha in the southern part of Kaduna State.
Mohammed Adamu (21) a mason based in Mararaban Jos, in the outskirts of Kaduna State, had a misunderstanding with his boss over four bags of cement and N8,000 which saw him sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option of N5,000 fine by a magistrate’s court, which he was unable to pay.
“I have been in the prison for about two months and this is because of the problem I had with my boss who taught me masonry. He gave me four bags of cement and N8,000 for me to patch up an apartment but instead I used the materials for my house.
“He took me to police station and from there I was taken to court. It was at the court that I was sentenced to prison,” he said pledging not to repeat the offence.
Another inmate who regained his freedom courtesy of the Pastor was Saidu Mohammed (30), who said he was an Islamic school student. He said he stole a pumping machine in Buruku village and was arrested while trying to escape.
“Truly, I stole the pumping machine but I did that in order to get money to feed myself and I was caught while trying to escape with the machine. They beat me and I was almost lynched before I was rescued. That was my first time and by God grace I won’t repeat it again. Life in the prison was a hell because we have to live with hungry, mosquitoes and bedbugs. I thank the pastor for assisting me to pay the fine. Now I can start my life again,” he said.
On his part, Abu Suleiman (20) was working as a bus conductor along Gadan Gayan road when their vehicle hit and killed a goat. He alighted along with his driver and slaughtered the goat. It was while they were slaughtering the goat that a group of vigilantes pounced on them and they were labelled as “goat thieves”
“Our bus was filled with passen-gers when we hit the goat but when the vigilante came they didn’t listen to us. They just jumped into conclusion that we are thieves and they took us to police station,” he said. He was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment with an option of N10,000 fine. He had spent 35 days out of sentence.
“I thank the pastor for this help and I’m assuring the public that I’m not a thief, I was only labelled as one by the vigilante,” he said.
Admonishing the inmates shortly after they were released, popular Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Saliu Abubakar Maibarota, urged them to guard against any act that will take them back to prison. He urged the general public to emulate Pastor Buru’s gesture by helping to pay the fines of inmates who are languishing in prison over minor offences.
“What he did is in line with what Islam teaches us. It’s one of the lessons of Ramadan that we should put smile on the faces of others. By this, he has demonstrated that he is truly a man of God. We need more people like him to promote peace and unity among our two major religions,” he said.
Speaking shortly after the inmates’ release, Pastor Buru said he decided to secure the release of only Muslim inmates because of the Ramadan fast.
“I selected the Muslim inmates alone because I want them to go to their respective houses and do the fasting which is one of the pillars of Islam,” he said.
He urged the inmates to use the period to pray for peaceful co-existence in the country and that he would continue to promote peace in the country.
“I am also planning to secure the release of 50 more inmates before the end of Ramadan fast. And I’m doing this in the spirit of Ramadan period. Let us preach unity among ourselves. We know how we were living before and we know how we are now. We have to collectively embark on things that will bring back the good old days,” he said.