- Governor’s wife releases 16-year-old boy and 40 other convicts
By Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The 31 female inmates in the Nigerian Correctional Service Custodial Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, are all facing capital offences of murder.
The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ben Odo, disclosed this to reporters at the custodial centre on Tuesday when the wife of the state governor, Mrs Mary-Maudlin Uzoamaka Nwifuru, paid fines for 41 male inmates convicted with the option of fines to secure their freedom.
A 16-year-old boy, Ogobuchi Ikebe, who was convicted for stealing a Bluetooth device, was among those released by Mrs Nwifuru.
The Abakaliki Correctional Service Custodial Centre has a total of 1,265 inmates, of whom 31 are females.
Odo said none of the 31 female inmates were among those released by the governor’s wife because they were facing capital offences.
He noted that if convicted, they would be transferred to Enugu Maximum Prison, where those on death row are kept, awaiting execution.
“We have here in the Nigerian Correctional Service Custodial Centre, Abakaliki, 1,265 inmates. Out of that 1,265, 31 are female inmates, and all the female inmates have offences attached to them.
“They are charged with capital offences, murder, and the matter is still ongoing in court; they have not been sentenced. This is why all the people whose fines have been paid are male.
“The 31 female inmates here still have ongoing cases in court, and because they still have cases in court, we can’t pay fines for people who have not been sentenced by the court.
“The 31 of them are facing capital offences, and all 31 are charged with murder. If they are convicted, the implication is that they will not remain here. Anybody convicted of murder or capital offences will be sent to Enugu Maximum Prison, where people facing death sentences are kept,” Odo said.
One of the freed male inmates, Nwafor Emmanuel, 26, said he had been in prison since August last year and commended Mrs Nwifuru for securing his release.
He disclosed that he witnessed the deaths of five persons in the prison and vowed not to return to the offence that led to his imprisonment.
“The condition of inmates in the prison is very pathetic. I witnessed not less than five deaths in the prison, and I will not do anything that will take me back there.
“I want to thank the wife of our dear governor for securing my release. I was convicted for stealing an electricity generating set,” he said.
Addressing the freed inmates, Mrs Nwifuru urged them to shun crime to avoid returning to prison.
She assured them that she would continue to fight for the less privileged in society.