FOR allegedly being dumped and abandoned in Onitsha Prisons, Anambra State, without anybody coming to their rescue over the years, a human rights group, Human Dignity Restoration Association, HDRA, has reportedly come to the rescue of seven of the Prison inmates by offering them free Legal aid.
Making this disclosure during her maiden conference held at Piccalili Garden, John Nwadiogbu street, Omagba, near Onitsha, Anambra State yesterday, the National President of the body, Mr Jude Achebe, said that it was one of their members who pleaded that the said inmates being incarcerated because they have nobody to rescue them be assisted.
“One of our members pleaded that we do some voluntary job, that many inmates are dumped in the prisons because they don’t have lawyers who will represent them.
We take it as a point of duty, we are taking seven of them and which our lawyers are doing free legal service to them to make sure that they regain their freedom. We are doing the needful to ensure they are set free.”
He named them to include, Onyebuchi Onyema, from Abia State and he is charged for burglary.
The last he appeared in court was on April 2016 while Abraham Okeke from Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, who was charged for Advanced Free Fraud, (419er) appeared last in court on August 2015.
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Others were Chukwuebuka Walter from Enugu State who was charged for burglary, came last to court on October 2016.
Monday Osun from Cross River State was in court over rape and only appeared in 2015 while Ezekiel Nwobu from Ebonyi State who was charged for stealing GSM handset appeared in court last on June 8th 2015.
According to him, the particulars of others are being awaited by the body’s team of lawyers.
“It is not only this, presently we are handling a case of where a man in Agukwu Nri, had after the death of his brother, threw away the property of his deceased brother from the house, sacked the widow with her two children and locked the brother’s house insisting that the window will not enter the compound again and has been outside for six years now”.
Also speaking, the state chairman of the organization, comrade Chris Nnama, said that “some of them have even overstayed their prison terms as their offences are minor ones.”
He blamed government and judiciary in the delay of cases adding that more judges and courts should be provided.
He described the work of the civil society group as a call to duty adding that “it is the restoration of human dignity.”
Earlier in his speech, one of the counsels in the group, Barr. Vincent Ulodiuba, revealed that “there are many of the inmates begging for freedom but were unable to state how to locate their relations/friends” adding, “this is what is jeopardizing their
freedom.”