See The Total Numbers of Inmates Realeased in Five Months
By Gift Habib
Over 1,300 inmates from various custodial centres in Nigeria were granted amnesty between January and May 2024, according to information gathered on Sunday. This initiative is part of a broader effort to decongest the country’s prisons.
In November 2023, The FIRST CLASS GISTS reported that the Federal Government began releasing 4,068 inmates who were detained due to an inability to pay fines. This effort was funded by N585 million raised through Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by corporate bodies.
Several governors and Chief Judges have been instrumental in these releases during the first five months of 2024. On January 1, the governors of Benue, Nasarawa, Gombe, and Taraba states granted amnesty to 96 inmates.
On March 19, the Headford Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, facilitated the release of 628 inmates who had been wrongfully detained over the past five years. These releases took place in custodial centres in Lagos, Ekiti, Delta, Ogun, and Rivers states.
Additional releases occurred throughout March. On March 20, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima, granted amnesty to 38 inmates. On March 22, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed freed 96 inmates, and Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, released 24 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Custodial Centre.
In April, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda secured the release of 222 inmates by settling their fines on April 9. Later that month, on April 29 and 30, Ogun State Chief Judge Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu granted clemency to 49 inmates from the Ibara and Oba Correctional Centres in Abeokuta.
The wave of pardons continued into May. Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang granted pardon to 13 inmates on May 29. On the same day, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun freed 41 inmates, and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani pardoned 110 prisoners in observance of Democracy Day.
Abubakar Umar, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), recently announced to The FIRST CLASS GISTS that the service is expanding its custodial facilities by constructing six ultra-modern centres, each with a capacity of 3,000 inmates. This expansion aims to increase the overall capacity by 18,000 inmates to alleviate the overcrowding issues currently faced by their facilities.
“The NCoS has embarked on the expansion of its custodial facilities to enhance its capacity by constructing six ultra-modern custodial centres, each accommodating 3,000 inmates,” Umar stated. “This initiative is intended to increase our capacity by 18,000, addressing the overcrowding issues in our custodial facilities.”
