38 inmates get freedom from Abolongo correctional centre

A man, Muhammadu Buhari Aliyu, and 37 others who had spent long years at the Medium Security Custodial Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service at Abolongo, Oyo, jumped for joy on Monday as they received unconditional release under the prerogative of mercy of the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima.

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima, represented by Justice Ladiran Akintola, had set free the 38 unconditionally as part of a two-day exercise aimed at decongesting the prison and reducing the burden on both staff and inmates.

It will be recalled that 32 people were released at the Agodi Maximum Security Custodial Centre on Monday by Justice Yerima in the first leg of the two-day exercise

The 38 were the lucky ones out of a list of 87, and 15 of them were released on compassionate grounds because they had health conditions that needed to be treated in a free environment.

The release was in furtherance of the exercise of the Chief Judge’s power of release from custody as provided in Chapter 40, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2016, Oyo State of Nigeria.

All the inmates released were male, and the majority of them were from the northern part of the country, with major offences bordering on theft and burglary.

Speaking during the exercise, Justice Akintola said the exercise was not just on the whims and caprices of the CJ but an action backed by law, adding that it is not to release criminals into society but to ensure that justice is seen to be manifestly done by reducing the over-bloated prisons, especially in order to avoid outbreaks of diseases on the basis of incarceration that is too long for the penalty if convicted.

Those with poor health were released on the grounds that they needed to live as a dead man and could not face prosecution, and also to forestall an outbreak of diseases in the close confines of the custodial centres.

The released inmates were charged not to forget the lessons they learned, with the warning that if they are found as inmates again, they will not be given another chance.

The Nigerian Tribune reports that the administration of criminal justice provides for decongestion of prison as a statutory responsibility, especially for issues involving people unlawfully arrested or who have stayed behind bars longer than the period they should have stayed if convicted, those whose trial has been unduly delayed, or those whose condition requires being shown mercy in line with the provision of the law.

Speaking at the exercise, the Comptroller of Prison, Oyo State Command, Abdulraheem Salami, expressed appreciation for the decongestion exercise, adding that the release will go a long way in mitigating the congestion crisis in the centre.

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