TheNewsGuru

Tag: Prisoners

  • Jigawa Gov, Badaru facilitates release of 82 inmates

    Gov. Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa has facilitated the release of 82 inmates from various prisons in the state, Mr Baffa Alhassan, the state Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said.

    Alhassan told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Friday that the governor paid a total fine of over N2 million to facilitate the release of the inmates with minor cases.

    He said “this is commendable and an act of charity.

    “I believe this is as a result of efforts by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Aminu Ringim, after
    we toured prisons across the state and found that some of the facilities are congested.

    “Part of recommendations of the committee raised to work on decongestion of prisons is that
    inmates with minor offences should be released and be reformed so that they will become useful to the society.

    “So, I believe this is what prompted the governor to graciously pay N2 million to free the inmates.”

    Alhassan urged the governor to maintain the tempo to further trim down prisons’ population.

    The Jigawa Government recently constituted a committee under the leadership of the state Chief Judge to ascertain the number of inmates serving various jail terms with a view to ensuring justice.

    The governor had in July 2015 facilitated the release of 40 inmates from various prisons in the state.

  • BREAKING: British Government set to transfer Nigerian prisoners to Kirikiri

    The British Government has announced plans to build a new wing in a Nigerian prison so that it can transfer Nigerian prisoners there.

    Reuters reports that the new wing will be built at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos.

    The new 112-bed wing, which will cost 700,000 pounds ($973,000) and be compliant with United Nations standards, will make it easier for Britain to comply with a prisoner transfer agreement it signed with Nigeria in 2014.

    Under the deal, eligible prisoners serving criminal sentences in Nigeria and Britain can be returned to complete their sentences in their respective countries.

    The British government, however, did not indicate how many prisoners might be moved or when the project is likely to be completed.

    The British prison system has been showing signs of severe strain in recent years, with overcrowding, rising suicide rates and a growing problem with drug trafficking and other crimes within jails that were sometimes built in the Victorian era.

    Reuters reported Thursday that in a written statement to parliament, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said tenders had been placed and a supplier identified to conduct the building work at Kirikiri in Lagos, but the supplier remained unnamed.

    Details showed that the project will be funded from Britain’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, which has an annual budget of more than 1 billion pounds and aims to commission projects that can help prevent conflicts and stabilise countries or regions.

    Nigerian prisons, many built more than a hundred years ago, are usually overcrowded, leading to the spread of diseases. Kirikiri is not one of the oldest prisons in Nigeria but it does date back to colonial times.

    In February, the Nigerian government said the prison in Port Harcourt currently has nearly 5,000, with about 3,700 of them had been awaiting trial for more than five years. The prison was originally designed to hold 800 prisoners.

    In July 2017, the Controller General of Nigerian Prisons Service, Jafaru Ahmed, said there was urgent need for adequate funding of prisons across the country in order to properly achieve major objectives of prisons service as well as ensure greater efficiency.

    “We can improve the prisons service by improved funding that is one of our major constraints. We have gone to developed countries to see how prisons are efficiently run. The facilities that we have in Nigeria, most of them are obsolete and overstretched because of the high population. If there is improved funding, all the facilities that supposed to be in place will be in place,” he said.

  • Gov El-Rufai releases 10 prisoners

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has granted clemency to 10 prisoners in the state and approved their immediate release.

    The Governor also granted pardon to Captain Idris Mohammed, a retired soldier and ex-convict, who completed his prison term in 1985.

    El-Rufa’i in a statement said the gesture was to extend compassion to deserving prisoners during New Year.

    It said that the governor’s action was based on the recommendations of the Kaduna State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy and in line with the provisions of Section 212 of the Constitution.

    The 10 prisoners were serving jail terms ranging from three to six years, with less than six months left to complete their terms.

    Those granted pardoned for their good behavior are Habibu Iliyasu, Ibrahim Mohammed, Ibrahim Auwalu, Abubakar Abdullahi and Shehu Usman.

    Others were, Ibrahim Stephen, Saidu Idris, Ashimu Danmutuwa, Kabiru Mohammed and Aliyu Yusuf.

    El-Rufai said the pardon granted Capt. Mohammed to remove the stigma of being an ex-convict.

  • Four prisoners die, 36 others escape in Akwa Ibom jailbreak

    There was pandemonium on Wednesday at one of the prison facilities in Akwa Ibom as four inmates lost their lives in a fracas between the prisoners and a kitchen staff on duty.

    36 of the inmates are still at large while seven others that initially escaped were recaptured.

    This was revealed in an official statement by the Nigerian Prison Service on Wednesday shortly after the ugly incident.

    Read full statement below.

    At about 1147hrs on Wednesday, 27 December 2017, there was an attack on kitchen staff that were on duty at Ikot Ekpene Prison in Akwa-Ibom State by some prisoners.

    They seized an axe from fellow inmate attached to the kitchen, inflicting a deep cut to inmates’ head in the process and immediately made for the rear entrance to the prison. They broke the door with the axe and engaged the staff that chased after them in battle.

    At the end of the scuffle, 4 of them that sustained gun shots lost their lives while 7 were recaptured. 36 are still at large and search parties have been activated to effect their recapture.

    Meanwhile, the Controller of Prisons Akwa Ibom State Command, Alex Oditah has ordered an investigation into the circumstance surrounding the unfortunate incident.

    The CP wishes to appeal to members of the public to assist the authority with useful intelligence that will aid arrest of feeling prisoners assuring that security has been strengthen in all prison formations in the State to forestall breach of security.

    ASP Ogbajie J. Ogbajie
    Command Public Relations Officer
    For: CP Akwa-Ibom State

     

  • Independence anniversary: Ajimobi pardons 21 prisoners

    Independence anniversary: Ajimobi pardons 21 prisoners

    Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has pardoned 21 convicts on the occasion of Nigeria’s 57th independence anniversary celebrations.

    A statement issued in Ibadan on Saturday by the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka, said the development was exercise of the governor’s power of prerogative of mercy, pursuant to the provisions of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    According to the statement, seven persons were granted release from prison, having spent varying terms of their sentences, while 13 others had their death sentences reduced to a term of years, having spend considerable terms in prison.

    The statement further stated that one person had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

    “The records of the benefitting convicts suggest that they have undergone reforms while some of them have, while in incarceration, passed their General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations and obtained first degree certificates from the National Open University.

    “Some of them are also at varying stages of completion of their degree courses in different courses at NOUN,’’ it said.

    The statement expressed the hope that the governor’s gesture would be reciprocated by the beneficiaries by maintaining good conduct and ensuring that they became useful to themselves and the society at large.

     

  • Eid-el-Kabir: Ganduje frees 350 prisoners, gives them N5,000 transport allowance

    Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State on Friday visited Kano Central and Goron Dutse Prisons to release 350 inmates.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the governor released 200 inmates from the Kano Central Prison and also freed 150 inmates from the Goron Dutse Prison.

    He also gave them N5, 000 cash each to assist them return to their homes.

    In his remarks, Governor Ganduje said: “this pardon granted as part of 2017 Eid-el-Kabir celebration is to enable all the released inmates to start a new life.

    “I also hope that they will be law abiding and engage themselves in conducts that will be productive to them and their families.”

    The representative of the Minister of Interior at the event, Ado Abdullahi, expressed his delight to the governor for his unprecedented gesture.

    He added that in the records of the ministry, no governor has released half of what Governor Ganduje did

    It will be recalled that Ganduje during the Eid El Fitr celebrations two months ago directed that 500 prisoners be carefully selected for immediate release.

    That was the 1st time in Nigeria, a governor is pardoning up to 500 at the same time.

    Few of those condemned to death and who are serving life imprisonments had their sentences reviewed downwards.

     

  • Gov Ayade frees 34 prisoners to commemorate Cross River at 50

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has granted a state pardon to 34 inmates serving various jail terms in Calabar Prison to mark the 50th Anniversary of the state.

    Ayade said this on Saturday in Calabar in his anniversary speech to the people of the state.

    He said that Cross River had every reason to celebrate 50 years of its existence as a state, considering its monumental achievements during the period.

    The governor said the pardon was in the spirit of the celebration and based on the provision of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution.

    He said, “in the spirit of the celebration and the powers vested on me by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, I hereby grant clemency to the following category of people serving various jail terms in the state.

    “They are five people on death row; 16 prisoners serving life sentences; four prisoners who are above 60 years of age; nine convicted criminals who are terminally ill and may likely die any moment if not granted pardon.’’

    Ayade stressed the need for the people to always remember past leaders of the state who had made considerable efforts in moving the state to greater heights.

    He said that in spite of the great challenges that have bedeviled the state, there was the need for the people to have hope for a greater future.

    According to him, the state has excelled in many fields of endeavors including tourism, agriculture and forest preservation.

    He added that the annual Calabar Carnival has become the greatest street party in Africa.

    “I therefore call on you to stick together as we look forward to a greater tomorrow, ‘’ he said.

    Ayade had earlier performed the public signing into law of eight bills passed by the State House of Assembly, as part of the celebration.

    The laws include Administration of Criminal Justice in Cross River; Citizen Right, Cross River Inland Water-ways, Cross River Scrap Regulatory Agency, Cross River Lottery ; Hawkers Right; Emergency Management Agency, and House of Assembly Commission.

    The governor also used the occasion of the celebration to call on the people of the state to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammad Buhari.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Cross River was created on May 27, 1967 from the former Eastern Region as South Eastern State by the then Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime.

    The state was renamed to Cross River State in 1976 by late Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed.

     

     

    NAN