Date: 2012-04-21

The Chief Judge of Kwara, Justice Raliat Elelu-Habeeb, on Friday pardoned seven awaiting trial inmates of the Federal Prison in Ilorin.

Elelu-Habeeb discharged the inmates when she led other members of the Kwara Criminal Justice Committee on a jail delivery to the prison.

She told newsmen that the visit was part of the committee's ways to decongest prisons in the state, noting that the last visit was made in 2009.

''For the past two years, there had not been this kind of visit.
Throughout 2010 and 2011, there had not been decongestion of prison and there had been so many complainants.

''There were accused persons in custody, who were not ordinarily supposed to be there.

''Some are here may be for the offence that is not up to six months, but they have spent more than six months.

''For instance, somebody that stole a fowl and had spent up to nine months without trial. For lighter offences, they are just being detained without trial. That is why we are here."

She said that the mission of the committee was not to free criminals but to discharge those with lighter offences.

Elelu-Habeeb added that a similar visit would be paid to the Medium Security Prison at Mandala next Friday, promising that the visit would now be a continuous exercise.

She directed the officials of the Nigerian Prison Service to take the mentally-derailed inmates to a psychiatric hospital and then write the state Ministry for Social Welfare for help.

In his remark, the state Controller of Prison, Otunba Joseph, lauded the committee for the visit noting that decongestion of prison would assist his men to enforce discipline among the inmates.

''I, therefore, appeal for a regular visit like this in order to assist decongest the prison," he said.

He also called on the State Government to provide vocational workshops in the prison, claiming that the essence of keeping inmates in prison was to reform them.

The discharged inmates had been arraigned in court for offences ranging from criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, theft, assault, shop breaking, trespass and being in possession of stolen property.

Meanwhile, the discharged inmates: David Austin, Aina Abraham, Ojo Michael, John Paul, Aliu Ibrahim, Oseni Araoye and Azeez Aremu, were warned never to go back to crime again.