• Aiyedatiwa pardons seven convicts to mark 61st birthday

The ongoing indefinite strike by the Coalition of Magistrates, Presidents of Grade ‘A’ Customary Courts and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ondo State chapter, is said to have crippled the justice system in the state.

Meanwhile, to commemorate his 61st birthday, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has pardoned no fewer than seven convicts serving various jail terms in the state.

One of the aggrieved judicial workers, Jamiu Bamidele, yesterday, accused the Attorney General of the state, Kayode Ajulo (SAN) and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Omowumi Isaac, of strangling the judicial arm of government.

Judicial workers, penultimate Monday, shut down operations statewide, following the inability of Aiyedatiwa to approve their financial autonomy.

The workers are also accusing the government of paying no attention to the plight of workers, lamenting poor welfare. A check by The Guardian on Monday, January 12, showed that courts were still under lock and key as the union barred workers from attending to issues until their demands were met.

Bamidele stated that hundreds of citizens were languishing in “overcrowded police cells and correctional facilities in Akure and beyond” due to the ongoing strike.

According to him, the citizens have been denied the “right to arraignment or bail”.

“It is an act of institutional vandalism by the executive branch. By starving the third arm of government of its constitutionally mandated financial autonomy, the state government has effectively declared war on its own citizens,” Bamidele added.

AIYEDATIWA, also in the spirit of the new year, pardoned 77 inmates across the correctional facilities in the state. With the new set of inmates receiving the state pardon, the governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, disclosed that the inmates received the grace based on reports of positive attitude and genuine remorse.

While emphasising that the decision was taken after thorough and due recommendations by the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, the governor harps on prison decongestion and restorative justice, as well as the provision of second chances to those who have exhibited and demonstrated meaningful change in the cause of serving their jail term.

The statement read: “In a continued demonstration of compassionate and humane leadership, Aiyedatiwa has exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy by granting outright pardon and release to seven additional convicts serving various sentences in correctional facilities across the state.”

Chairman of the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, Dr Kayode Ajulo (SAN), commended the governor for “this thoughtful and forward-thinking decision.”