Get Guardian on GoogleThe Rivers State Judiciary has released 150 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre as part of its gaol delivery exercise for the 2024/2025 legal year.
The exercise, aimed at decongesting custodial centres across the state, saw 109 inmates freed by the Magistrates’ Court and 41 others released by the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi.
Speaking during the ceremony at the Port Harcourt facility, Justice Chibuzor-Amadi described the initiative as both constitutional and humanitarian, carried out under the powers vested in him by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Rivers State.
He said the review focused on inmates who had spent longer than necessary in custody without trial, those whose case files were missing, and others whose cases warranted reconsideration.
The Chief Judge called for closer collaboration among the police, the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, and the correctional service to enhance investigations and ensure speedy dispensation of justice. He urged the freed inmates to turn a new leaf and contribute positively to society.
The Controller of Correctional Centres, Rivers State Command, Felix Madumere, commended the judiciary under the leadership of Justice Chibuzor-Amadi for its role in decongesting facilities and promoting justice.
He also advocated for the establishment of a Board of Prerogative of Mercy and improved infrastructure to accommodate inmates, particularly those on death row or serving life sentences, to further ease overcrowding in the state’s custodial centres.
