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Tag: Inmates

  • Lagos pardons 14 inmates, coverts death row for 20 others to life imprisonment

    The Lagos State government, through the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, on yesterday pardoned 14 inmates of the Maximum Security Prison, Kirikiri who have been imprisoned for over 20 years for various offences, while 20 others on death row had their punishment converted to life imprisonment.

    Speaking while handing over the order for the release of the inmates signed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to prison authorities, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem (SAN) said the development was pursuant to constitutional provision which provides for the constitution of an Advisory Council and grants the Governor power to grant clemency to convicted persons on the advice of the Council.

    ”Prerogative of Mercy is a right recognised under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended); Section 212(2) of the Constitution provides that the powers conferred on the Governor under Section 212(1) shall be exercised by him after consultation with the Advisory Council of the State on the Prerogative of Mercy as may be established by the law of the State,” Kazeem stated.

    He said the inmates were considered to benefit from the prerogative of mercy after due examination of their case files, which revealed that they have been reformed and ready for re-integration into the society.

    Kazeem, who is also a member of the council, specifically congratulated the inmates, and advised them to be of good conduct outside the prison.

    Also speaking, chairman of the council, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo said aside its power under the Constitution, the setting up of the Council also serves as a way of de-congesting the prisons.

    He equally congratulated the beneficiaries of the clemency by the governor, and urged them to avoid acts that led to into prison in the first place.

    On his part, the Controller of Prison Incharge of Kirikiri Maximum Prison, DCP Emmanuel Oluwaniyi commended the state government especially the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice for the efforts to de-congest the prison.

    Oluwaniyi, newly deployed to the state, said it was particularly gratifying that he was commencing his stewardship in the state on a good note with the release of inmates who are due to be re-integrated into the society, just as he equally admonished them to be of good conduct outside the prison.

    Aside Oyewo and Kazeem, other members of the Lagos State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy are Mr. Adedotun Adetunji, Mrs Musili Onasanya, Mr. Olumide Oniyire, Mr. Chris Okoye, Mrs. Bolatumi Animashaun, and Mrs. Yemisi Ogunlola (Secretary).

  • Edo: Presidential committee releases additional 21 inmates in Oko Prison

    Edo: Presidential committee releases additional 21 inmates in Oko Prison

    The Presidential Committee on Prisons Reforms and Decongestion has released additional 21 convicted inmates in Oko Minimum Prison at Oredo Local Government Area of Edo.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Committee led by the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, had earlier freed 32 convicted inmates in Benin Prison on Monday.

    Ishaq explained that the option of fine given to the inmates which could be not paid during their trials would now be paid by Gov. Godwin Obaseki.

    The Committee, however, frown at one of the convicts Desmond Ekaria, who was sentenced for six months with option of fine of N25,000 over ‘intent to steal’.

    Ishaq condemned the sentence, adding that the convict did not actually steal and he should not have been served such a punishment.

    Those freed at Oko Prison committed various offences including conspiracy, breaking and entry, stealing, unlawful possession, threat of injury or detriment, and intent to steal

    Their sentences ranged between three months to four years imprisonment with fine options of N20,000 to N380,000

    Those freed are: Timothy Ihunrian, ovie Samson, Elvis Olaye, Monday Aigbichie, Yusuf Ibrahim, Thomas Tepong-Kunpeng, Friday Oisevbiomon,Raphael Shamiga, Oriakhi Okundaye, Timothy Omatsola, Wisdom John, Igbinovia Eghosa, Desmond Ekaria, Umar Mohammed, Wisdom Chibuzor, Musa Ibrahim, Dalami Moses Ogiekpolor Clinton, Efe Omoruyi Amaka Chukwuemeka, and Bright Agbanbe.

  • Osun chief judge releases 32 inmates

    Osun chief judge releases 32 inmates

    Thirty-two awaiting trial inmates from the two prison formations in Ilesha and Ile Ife, Osun state, have been released by the state’s Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo.

    The inmates were released during the Chief Judge and Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice’s jail delivery exercise at Ilesha and Ile Ife prisons.

    Three other inmates were also granted bail, with various conditions attached.

    The Chief Judge pardoned 22 inmates and granted bail to three others at Ilesa Prison, while ten inmates were released at Ile-Ife Medium Security Prison.

    Earlier, while welcoming the Chief judge and her team, the Controller of Prisons, Osun State Command, Mr Segun Oluwasemire, commended Justice Ojo, members of his panel, Directorate of Public Prosecution and Legal Aid Council, for the effort to decongest prisons in the state.

    The Controller pleaded with the Chief Judge, to release as many as 50 inmates from prisons in the state.

    In her remarks, Justice Ojo, said the visit was organised to mark the commencement of the 2018/2019 Legal year of High Court of Justice of Osun State.

    A statement signed by ASP Olusola Adeotan, the Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Prison Service, Osun State Command, explained that Justice Ojo was statutorily empowered by Criminal Justice (Release from custody) (Special Prison) Act, CAP. 40. Section 1(I)(a) & (b), to carry out the release.

    Justice Ojo, also assured of the commitment of the administration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the State House of Assembly and the State High Court, to decongest prisons in the state.

    She enjoined those released from prison to put to positive use, skills acquired while in prison.

     

  • 113 inmates escape Indonesian prison – Official

    No fewer than 113 inmates have escaped from a prison in Indonesia’s Aceh province after breaking through the doors with barbells and other crude weapons, an official said on Friday.

    “After evening prayers on Thursday, the prisoners destroyed doors leading to Banda Aceh prison’s hall and then into the guest area,’’ Meurah Budiman, the head of the provincial justice department, said.

    Budiman said that guards tried to stop the inmates breaking out from there but were overpowered.

    “No fewer than 26 of the escapees have since been recaptured,’’ he said.

    Report says Indonesian prisons are overcrowded and understaffed; meanwhile, jailbreaks are not uncommon.

  • Chief Judge frees 13 inmates in Plateau

    Plateau Chief Judge, Justice Yakubu Dakwak, has ordered the release of 13 inmates serving their jail terms in the various prison formations in the state.

    DSP Luka Ayedoo, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Plateau command of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), made the disclosure in a statement issued on Thursday in Jos.

    According to him, the Chief Judge gave the order during the second round of jail delivery held from Aug. 6 to Aug. 8.

    Ayedoo also said that 11 inmates were equally granted bail during the exercise, adding that the affected prisoners were among those awaiting trial.

    He added that Dakwak expressed satisfaction with improved jail conditions at the prison and urged its management to do more.

    He further said the chief judge extolled the criminal justice administration of the state for performing optimally, as evident in high ratio of convicted criminals over those awaiting trial.

    NAN

  • Minna jailbreak: 51 inmates recaptured

    Minna jailbreak: 51 inmates recaptured

    The Nigeria Prisons Service in Niger says 51 inmates out of the 210 inmates that escaped from the Minna Medium Security Prison on June 3, had had been recaptured.

    The Controller of Prisons in the state, Mr Mustapha Iliyasu, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Minna on Wednesday.

    Iliyasu said that the inmates were recaptured through the combined efforts of security agencies in the state.

    According to him, prison officials and other security operatives are making concerted efforts to recapture the remaining inmates.

    He appealed to the public to assist the service with useful information that would aid the recapturing of the fleeing inmates.

    He said that security had been tightened in and around all prison formations in the state, to forestall future recurrence.

    The controller appealed to the state government to make good its promise of assisting the service with logistics to ease operational duties.

    NAN reports that attack on the Prison by gunmen also led to the death of two persons.

    NAN

  • 1,574 inmates awaiting trial in Anambra Prisons – Official

    1,574 inmates awaiting trial in Anambra Prisons – Official

    No few than 1,574 inmates out of 1,761 prisoners in Anambra are currently awaiting trial for various offences, the state’s Controller of Prisons, Mr Emmanuel Nwakaeze has said.

    Nwakaeze, who gave the figure in an interview with newsmen in Onitsha on Friday, said the inmates spread across four prisons in Aguata, Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi.

    According to him, 48 of the of the awaiting trial inmates are females.

    “The total number of awaiting trial inmates constituted 78 per cent of the total inmates in the state prisons.

    “The Awka Prison houses 374 inmates; Onitsha Prison has 887 inmates; Nnewi 282 and the Aguata Prison has 218 inmates. 65 per cent are citizens of the state,” he said.

    The Controller noted that 30 inmates were currently condemned in the prisons under the command.

    Nwakaeze said congestion was the major challenges of the command as it created room for unhealthy environment that could lead to outbreak of cholera, tuberculosis and other killer diseases.

    He appealed to Gov. Willie Obiano, Non-Governmental Organisations and philanthropists to assist the command with waste disposal tanks and vehicles for the evacuation of wastes.

    The commander also solicited assistance in the area of electricity transformers, vehicles, ambulances and other amenities to improve the welfare of inmates.

    He commended the Controller-General of Prisons, Alhaji Ja’ Afaru Ahmed for improving the welfare of prisoners and promotion of officers.

    “The Controller-General has done a lot to ensure the decongestion of prisons across the country.”

    He also commended the state governor and the Chief Judge of the state for their initiatives to decongest the prisons yearly.

  • Nigeria’s 804-capacity prison has 4,204 inmates – Minister

    Nigeria’s 804-capacity prison has 4,204 inmates – Minister

    The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has disclosed that the Port-Harcourt Prison which was built for 804 prisoners it currently accommodates 4204 inmates.

    Mr. Dambazau made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in his office in Port-Harcourt.

    The minister told the governor that the Stakeholders Panel on Prison Decongestion recommended Rivers as one of the states from the six geopolitical zones for the construction of a 3000 capacity prison.

    He added that the federal government’s proposed prison project would be carried out on a land that was allocated to the Prisons Service in 1979 in Bori, Rivers State.

    In his remarks, Governor Wike promised to provide necessary supports and cooperation towards the commencement and completion of the new prison project.

    The governor further called on the federal government to complete the ongoing construction of a prison at Omoku so that it could decongest other prisons in the state.

    The Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, told the governor that the contractor handling Omoku Prison had been contacted to hasten the project for early completion.

     

  • Akwa Ibom jailbreak: 28 inmates still at large – NPS

    The Controller General of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) Mr Jaffaru Ahmed, has disclosed that 28 inmates of Ikot Ekpene Prisons that escaped during jailbreak on Dec. 27, 2017 were still at large.

    Ahmed disclosed this to newsmen after an inspection of facilities in Ikot Ekpene Prisons on Friday.

    The controller general, who described the facilities in Ikot Ekpene Prisons as well fortified, attributed the jailbreak to lapses on the part of prison staff.

    “About 40 inmates found their way out of Ikot Ekpene Prisons in a broad daylight around 11.45 a.m.

    “They took on the lapses that they saw, perhaps they have been planning it for a very long time and actualised it on December 27, 2017 when they saw the opportunity.

    “The 28 that are at large are very hardened criminals; some of them are kidnappers awaiting trials, some are facing capital offences and therefore it is something to worry,” Ahmed said.

    He lamented that those still at large supposed to be in custody to allow the other members of the society to live in peace.

    He assured Akwa Ibom people and the entire nation that the fleeing inmates would soon be recaptured to face their trials.

    He added that any staff found wanting would have to face the full wrath of the law.

    The controller general debunked insinuations from some quarters that the jailbreak was due to infringement on the fundamental rights of the inmates.

    He said, “These prisoners were not rioting because there was maladministration in the prison system, but they organised it in order to get freedom illegally. That is what actually happened.

    “It was not that they were not being fed or given medical attention or not taken to court.

    “Any insinuation anywhere, I state that investigation I have here before me, that there was nothing than they took lapses on the part of staff and organised to escape.”

    Ahmed commended the Akwa Ibom Government for the support given to the Nigeria Prisons Service and appealed for more.

    He thanked other sister security agencies for their cooperation and sought for more to enable the service to recaptured the fleeing inmates, to ensure peace and tranquillity in the state.

     

    NAN

  • Jailbreak: NPS re-arrest 14 out of 47 Akwa Ibom prison inmates

    The Akwa Ibom Controller of Nigeria Prison s Service (NPS), Mr Alex Oditah, on Thursday, has announced the re-arrest of 14 out of the 47 inmates who escaped from the Ikot Ekpene Prisons.

    The inmates escaped from the prison on Dec. 7.

    Oditah also told the News Agency of Nigeria in Uyo that three-man committee had been inaugurated to ascertain the immediate and remote cause of the incident to forestall future occurrence.

    “Some inmates escaped from Ikot Ekpene prison on Dec.7, at about 12.45 p.m.; To ascertain the total number of those that escaped we have to do a headcount.

    “We discovered that 47 inmates had escaped from the custody. Immediately search party swung into action and 14 were recaptured,” Oditah said.

    The controller added that four of those who escaped died from bullet wounds when they tried to overpower prisons officers on duty.

    Oditah added that some of the prisons officials, who sustained different degrees of injuries, were receiving treatment an undisclosed hospital.

    He explained that the escaped inmates seized utensils like knives, machetes and other dangerous materials to aid their escaped.

    The controller of prisons disclosed that the 400 capacity Ikot Epene prisons, currently houses 831 inmates.

    “The capacity for Ikot Ekpene Prisons is 400 but as of Dec. 27, the prison custody 831 inmates, most of the inmates are awaiting trials.

    “The Prison facilities are overstretched and requires urgent attention, ” he said.

    He assured that prison officials other security agencies were working extra hard to recapture the remaining inmates.

    Oditah appealed to members of the public to assist the authority with useful intelligence that would aid the arrest of the fleeing prisoners.

    He noted that security had been tightened in and all prison formations in the State to forestall breach of security.

    The controller appealed for logistics assistance from the Akwa Ibom state government to ease its operational duties.