…As FIDA Wants Released Inmates To Take Undertaking
The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, on Thursday released 10 inmates from the Nigerian Correctional Service, Port-Harcourt and advised them to be of good behaviour.
There was a court session inside the correctional centre for the release of inmates as the chief judge looked at case files of inmates and made decision.
The ceremony was part of his routine exercise.
Out of those released eight had committed serious offence including murder, rape and kidnapping and stayed in prison for nearly 10 years while the remaining two had committed less serious offence including burglary and stayed in prison for about five years.
The first inmate called was Promise Nenule whose offence was rape and punishment was life imprisonment and spent 11 years in jail but was released by the chief judge.
In the session were the chief judge and court officials, prison staff, police and the press.
The inmates were brought into the hall and names called as the chief judge looked at their case files.
The files of some of the inmates however could not be found.
Nenule who is aged 20, male, was brought to jail in 2009 on rape charges and had stayed in prison for 11 years before he was released.
Others on the serious offence list who were released include Mathias Deesi, male, aged 25 who was brought to jail in 2010 and stayed for 10 years and Uduak Attah Okon aged 30, male, brought to jail in 2010 and stayed in prison for 10 years as well as Ikechukwu Lazarus Igbonukere, male, aged 29 who came to prison in 2011 and had stayed for 9 years.
Others released on serious offence list include Samuel Friday, male, 22, James Sunday Edem, 28, male, Godbless John, 19, male and had stayed for nine years as well as Benjamin Adeyemi who stayed in jail for nine years before he was released.
Those released on minor offence list were Ubong Monday, 23, male and stayed in prison for five years and HenryChukeudi Josiah, 21, male having also stayed for five years.
Addressing the released inmates the chief judge said: “We have been able to release 10 of you, it’s not because you did not commit the offence and not because you committed the offence. We are releasing you not for you to go and engage in criminal acts. Go home, change your lifestyle and be a good citizen of this country”.
He further said: “What brought you here you should make a decision that nothing will ever make you to come here again or to appear in court”.
For the police the chief judge said: “I will also use this medium to appeal to the police because one of the reasons why the correctional centre is so congested is due to lack of investigations”.
In course of the session acting Chairperson of FIDA, Rivers State branch, Nnenna Igbokwe, when asked for her opinion by the chief judge on inmates about to be released facing rape charges said that they should be released with inmates taking an undertaking.
She said that if all inmates facing rape charges were released she would not know what would happen to girls in society.
Her second in command also said FIDA was following up cases and if they should be released it must go with condition adding that defilement of minors was prevalent in society.
She said something should be done to keep freed inmates far away from girls.
The chief judge had said he was not there to make law but to free inmates from correctional centre.
The inmates freed on minor offences were awaiting trial.
Earlier, the Commandant of Nigerian Correctional Service congratulated the chief judge on his appointment.
He said that inmates would be happy and when the prison was decongested there would be less tension among inmates.
In an interview the acting Chairperson of FIDA, Nnenna Igbokwe, said that freed inmates should have understaking to be of good behaviour.
She said: “Yes we wanted a condition where they will undertake to be of good conduct and they should also understand having released them does not mean they should go out there and feel they did not commit the offence”.
She further said: “The condition is that they should undertake to be of good conduct. They should not go back to that crime”.
She said those released were released not because they did not commit the offence but that the chief judge exercised discretion releasing them.
She said those who committed rape should face the charge and get punishment and said though they objected the chief law officer had reason to pardon them.
Igbokwe said: “For defilement cases those are the areas FIDA actually objected because releasing them back into society is another thing because we feel they should be able to face the charges. Rape is life imprisonment, that is what it says, so if you are there and you have committed the offence for life imprisonment I think (that) the law should take its course and you should be sentenced for that but for whatever it is the chief judge had discretion to release them”.
She advised freed inmates not to go back to crime and said that they should undertake to be of good conduct.
