Inmate makes case for abandoned facilities at Ogwashi-Uku custodian centre

An inmate at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Ogwashi-Uku has appealed to the Federal Government and non-government organisations (NGOs) to send instructors to the facility to equip them with requisite skills so that they will be useful to themselves and the society when they eventually regain freedom.

The inmate, Master Gabriel Uwaya, 18, currently standing trial for murder at a  high court sitting in  Asaba, said the centre has three workshops built for carpentry, tailoring and barbing salon  all without qualified instructors or equipment  to enable them to acquire vocational skills.

Master Uwaya implored the Chief Judge of Delta State, Justice Tessy Diai, who was on  tour to  custodian centres across the state to use her good office to attract government’s attention to the dormant facilities.

He disclosed that the assistant controller of correction in charge of the centre, Mr. John Amanzi Unamba, has been  compassionate to inmates even as he prayed for God’s protection and blessings for him.

The Chief Judge, who released one inmate out of 448 warrants reviewed at the Ogwashi-Uku Centre, commended Justice Onome Marshal-Umukoro in charge of High Court 5, Asaba and the prosecutors for the rapid progress of criminal cases in the court.

Justice Diai had acknowledged the difficulty in bringing witnesses to testify in courts, saying, “I know the difficulty, I know the efforts the prosecutors put in to get these people to come to court. It is not easy. So, I thank all of you for your zeal and hardwork.”

She thanked other judges, Chief Registrar, magistrates, Director of Public Prosecutions and team, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Asaba branch and members, for their diligence in making the visit successful.

While discharging Chinonso Aduba standing trial for conspiracy and murder, the Chief Judge stated that the defendant has no case to answer based on the Director of Public Prosecutions’ legal opinion.

When interviewed, Aduba, 27, claimed innocence of the alleged crime, narrating  that he was in his house at Akwuku-Igbo when a friend called him on phone that there was work for them.

Earlier, the assistant controller of Ogwashi-Uku Custodial Centre, John Amanzi Unamba informed the Chief Judge that the working relationship between staff of the High Court and that of the centre had remained cordial.

Ogwashi Uku custodian facility has 560 inmates comprising 152 convicts and 408 awaiting trial as at the time of this report.

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