Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, yesterday released 32 inmates of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Agodi, Ibadan, in a bid to decongest the centre.
He also promised that an ad-hoc court would be set up with the purpose of visiting correctional centres at regular intervals and releasing inmates that deserve the pardon.
The released inmates that were all awaiting trials comprised 25 males and seven females.
Abimbola, who led the Administration of Criminal Law Justice Monitoring Committee to the facility, noted that almost 1,079 cases were referred to the committee for consideration, adding that the committee was able to attend to 100 cases based on time constraints.
He said out of the 100 cases, the committee deemed it fit to release 32 awaiting trial inmates, adding that three among them were released on compassionate ground. He stated that another three inmates were also released on medical grounds and they have been given to a non-governmental organisation, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) for attention.
“Other inmates were released on the grounds of long staying and delay in trials, that if they had been tried at the appropriate time, or convicted and sentenced, they would have served their terms.”