Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Imo CJ frees six inmates of Owerri Prisons

By Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri
27 July 2015   |   3:17 am
IT was a thing of joy for six inmates at the Owerri Prisons when the Imo State Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi, set them free at the weekend, among the 2,000 inmates at the 548- capacity prison. Out of the number, The Guardian gathered that 1,732 inmates are awaiting trial there. The special session took…
 Justice Nnadi

Justice Nnadi

IT was a thing of joy for six inmates at the Owerri Prisons when the Imo State Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi, set them free at the weekend, among the 2,000 inmates at the 548- capacity prison. Out of the number, The Guardian gathered that 1,732 inmates are awaiting trial there.

The special session took place at the Owerri Prisons, in the capital city of Imo State in the presence of the judicial and prisons officials.

Those who were set free in the exercise fell into the category of those either unlawfully detained, have over-stayed or both, whose alleged offences, if they had been tried and convicted or sentenced under the law, would have served and been set free.

Nnadi said the special session was held without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, in collaboration with those in the justice sector.

He said: “It is our duty to do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour, affection or ill –will, and all other parties in the justice sector to co-operate to ensure that cases are dealt with expeditiously. That is our focus.”

The Comptroller of Prisons in the state, Mr. Ifeanyi Amaliri, said of the 548 capacity- inmates prisons, about 2,000 were there, regretting that the facilities to take them to court were insufficient. He therefore called for more collaboration and assistance from government and those willing and involved to assist the “innocently detained” persons.

He noted: “Facilities to take them to court cannot be enough for 2,000 people. So we need collaboration and assistance from the state, so that people who are innocently detained here can have their freedom. It is the state judiciary that brought almost all of them here. So they are not good enough to be quarantined here and left alone. Some of them can come out tomorrow and be useful to the state.”

Some who were discharged expressed open joy, promising to be good to the society. They said that they had realised their mistakes which brought them to the prisons, adding that they would once again re-unite with their families and move on with there lives.

0 Comments