Eid el-Fitr – Wamakko Frees 45 Prison Inmates

MNo fewer than 45 inmates of the Sokoto central prisons would join their loved ones to mark the Eid- el- Fitr celebrations as Senator representing Sokoto North Senatorial District and Chairman Northern Senators Forum, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko on Monday paid fines and compensations to free them.

The development was contained in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Senator, Bashir Rabe Mani.

The statement explained that the annual gesture of Senator Wamakko was extended to the beneficiaries under the Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko Free Legal Services Foundation.

Coordinator of the Foundation, Barrister Abdulhamid Zubairu said that, out of the 45 freed inmates, five were women, seven were juveniles, while the rest were from the Sokoto Central Prison.

He said that, under the gesture which gulped millions of naira, the minimum fine settled was N 60,000, while the maximum was N 230,000.

Barrister Zubairu further explained that the gesture was aimed at enabling the beneficiaries to celebrate the Eid -el Fitr with relative their respective families.

In the same vein, the gesture is aimed at further decongesting prisons, as well as bolstering the nation’s judiciary system.

Zubairu however, admonished the beneficiaries to steer clear of any acts capable of taking them back to the prisons.

Also addressing the freed inmates, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA), Sokoto State Chapter, Barrister Lema Wali, advised them to be of good conduct, be law-abiding and respectful to their various families.

Barrister Wali commended Senator Wamakko for sustaining the annual gesture, and he appealed to other wealthy individuals to emulate him.

A cross section of the lucky inmates lauded Senator Wamakko for the invaluable gesture and vowed never to engage in any acts capable of throwing them back to the prisons.

Transport fares were also doled out to all the freed inmates to various parts of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, as well as other parts of Nigeria.