Kogi Chief Judge Releases 4 Prison Inmates ~ Welcome to Thepanacea blog

Saturday 12 March 2016

Kogi Chief Judge Releases 4 Prison Inmates

Kogi Chief Judge Releases 4 Prison
Inmates

As part of efforts to decongest prison facilities in Kogi
State, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah,
has granted 4 prison inmates unconditional release
from the custody and one other was released on bail In
the same vein, he ordered that 10 other prison inmates
should be taken back to court to process their bail while
the investigation of their cases continues unhindered
Justice Nasir Ajanah, who gave these order while
reviewing cases of 199 awaiting trial inmates during the
Prison Decongestion Tour of the facility at new Koton
Karfe Prison yesterday, Justice Ajanah however,
expressed worry over the high rate in which people,
especially the youths, commit very serious offences
ranging from culpable homicide, armed robbery,
kidnapping and rape in the state.
While granting unconditional release to four inmates,
the Chief Judge explained that the basic principle of the
law is that no person shall be arrested and prosecuted
except for established or known offences. He also
pointed out that the section of the Constitution has
stipulated the period an accused person can be
detained, noting that continued detention of accused
persons without trial, particularly when no efforts are
made continue the case, will be tantamount to breach of
fundamental human rights, according to section 35(4)
of constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria He
therefore, warned that no magistrate should adjourn
cases beyond two weeks, adding that very soon, all
magistrates will submit the list of the cases they are
handling, decided or disposed off. The Chief Judge
pointed out that there were 199 awaiting trial, noting
that 130 cases were treated and the remaining 69 cases
fell within the responsibility of the Federal High Court .
"Out of 130 cases, we considered I, granted 4
unconditional release, granted conditional release to
one and ordered that about 10 inmates should be taken
to Court for their bail. We have 29 convicts and a total
of 220 inmates in this facility. The number of people in
the prison exceeds the prison again." Justice Ajanah
also explained that two weeks would be devoted toward
the end of April for assizes where most of the criminals
will be considered and those who have not known their
fate will know. Those granted freedom were Shola
Akanbi, Godwin Pete, Danlami Opaluwa and Yakubu,
while one Momoh Jimoh Aliu was granted bail with
N5,000 and one surety.