EKO HOT BLOG reports that Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, on Wednesday, granted amnesty to 33 inmates from three out of the five Custodial Centres of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) in the State.
The inmates were pardoned at an open court session presided over by the Chief Judge on the premises of the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Ogba.
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Eight of the inmates were released from Ikoyi custodial centre, 25 from Maximum and Medium Custodial centres respectively.
Justice Alogba noted that the exercise was in line with the efforts by the Federal Government to decongest the prisons as stipulated in Section 6 of the1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, Chapter 40 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2005.
He said it was also under powers conferred on him to grant the inmates pardon under Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act.
Justice Alogba lamented that the prevalence of crimes in society have been so horrendous for anybody to consider releasing anybody who has not been processed under the law.
He explained that the criteria used to determine those released were not based on sentiments but “were meticulously followed and scrutinized by the Justice Adenike Coker led decongestion committee.
Other Members of the committee includes; Justices Omobola Okikiolu-Ighile, Yetunde Adesanya, Hakeem Oshodi, Busola Okunuga, Josephine Oyefeso among others.
Releasing the inmates, Justice Alogba urged them to go and sin no more and be of good behaviour, adding that harder punishment would be meted out on any of the inmates caught committing a crime again.
He admonished them to retrace their steps and ensure they are not involved e in the Crimes again.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the state Controller of the NCS, Francis Adebisi, disclosed that 352 inmates are on death row at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre.
“The inmates on death row at the Maximum Correctional Centre are 352, and there are categories of inmates.
“We also have a total of 150 inmates serving life jail terms,” he said.
Adebisi noted that the population in the custodial centres has become a great challenge due to congestion.
He noted that the Ikoyi Custodial Centre built to accommodate 800 inmates currently has 2,665 inmates; while Kirikiri Maximum Centre has over 2,000 inmates as against the capacity of 1,056 and the Medium Centre has 3,117 as against 1,948 inmates.
Adebisi said the decision to release the deserving inmates would go a long way to improve the situation at the custodial centres across the state.
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