The Chief Judge of Ogun, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, on Wednesday, granted amnesty to 21 inmates in five Nigeria Correctional Services as part of the effort to decongest the centres across the state.
Dipeolu had visited the centres located at Ibara and Oba in Abeokuta as well as those in Ilaro, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode during her three days tour of the centres, which started on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six inmates were released from the Correctional Centre at Oba; four from Ibara, five in Ilaro, three in Sagamu, while three were also released from Ijebu-Ode Centres respectively.
Dipeolu, while speaking with newsmen shortly after the visit, said that the jail delivery exercise was to decongest the correctional centres.
She said all correctional centres in the state were congested, adding that the inmates were more than the capacity the centres could accommodate.
The chief judge, however, urged the Ministry of Interior in charge of the Nigerian Correctional Services to look into the expansion of the correctional centres to solve the problem of decongestion.
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“We need to expand the facilities, jail delivery exercise cannot do much in most of the correctional centres.
“The facilities are not adequate to take care of the level of crime, the crime rate is rising due to economic situation of the county,” Dipeolu said.
She also appealed to the Directors of Public Prosecution (DPPs) in the Ministry of Justice to work effectively in the discharge of their duties toward speedy dispensation of justice.
According to her, this will help in eliminating congestion in the correctional centres.
Dipeolu, however, admonished the freed inmates to make best use of the amnesty granted them by shunning crimes and criminal activities capable of bringing them back to the centres.
Commenting, Mr Bolaji Joseph, the Officer in charge of Sagamu Correctional Centre, said that it was important to provide court cells.
Joseph said that it would provide security for awaiting trial inmates from the custodial centre.
NAN
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