Decongestion: Stop sentencing persons with minor offences to jail, Bauchi CJ urges Sharia court judges

Sharia Court Judges in Bauchi State have been urged to refrain from sentencing all manners of suspects into custody especially those with minor offences.

The charge was given by the Chief Judge of Bauchi State, Justice Rabi Talatu Umar while speaking during a tour of correctional centres in the state.

According to her, such sentencing is bringing about congestion in the custodial centres.

Umar who was on her third-quarter visit to custodial centres in the state also ordered the release of 11 inmates from the facilities of the Bauchi State Command of Nigeria Correctional Service.

During the exercise, the CJ with members of the Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, comprising of the Nigerian Police, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) from Ministry of Justice, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bauchi Chapter and the Controller of Corrections, toured Misau, Zaki, Gamawa and Azare custodial centres.

Other centres include Jama’are, Ningi and Bauchi Custodial Centres, where she reviewed cases of awaiting trial inmates presented to her and released the deserving ones.

While addressing the released inmates, the chief judge admonished them to be law-abiding citizens and shun crimes in order not to come back to custody.

The chief judge also took time to address inmates with terrorism-related charges who have been languishing in custody for a long time without trial.

She assured them that the government and relevant agencies are doing everything possible to address their problems, urging them to remain calm and exercise more patience.

In his remarks, Controller of Corrections Bauchi State Command, CCS Kabir Abba Galadanci, commended the chief judge and the state government for making the visit to custodial centres possible.

 

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