On Tuesday, during his quarterly visit to the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ado-Ekiti, Chief Judge Lekan Ogunmoye of Ekiti State released 22 detainees who were awaiting trial.
Section 12 of Ekiti State’s Administration of Criminal Justice Law and Section 34(1) of the 1999 Constitution both make it clear that the Chief Judge is required to do this kind of work.
In all, 543 cases involving 535 male and 8 female inmates were examined during the visit. Out of the total, 18 were freed without any conditions, 3 were granted bail, and 1 was released per the recommendation of the Director of Public Prosecution due to the absence of a case ().
The visitation will continue, court Ogunmoye announced, after he thanked everybody involved in the court system for their support. Before the year came to a close, he pledged to make his way back to the center.
The “great succour” for convicts was praised by the Correctional Centre Comptroller, CC Alaba Ajeleti, in his welcome address, who praised the Chief Judge for the decongestion exercise. But she was upset that the facilities couldn’t handle the workload.
The center now houses 937 convicts, even though it was only intended to house 324, according to Ajeleti. She pleaded with Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, the Chief Judge, Attorney General, and Commissioner for Justice, to coordinate with the appropriate authorities to build more cells.
She went on to say that a lot of states have more than one prison and praised the Ekiti State Judiciary for looking into alternatives to jail time for low-level offenders.
According to the Chief Judge, only prisoners convicted of relatively minor offences are eligible for parole.