The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Oluwafunmilayo Atilade, on Wednesday released 153 awaiting trial inmates from the Kirikiri Maximum and Medium prisons.

Among the pardoned inmates were 79 being tried for capital offences.

Three of the freed inmates had been standing trial for over 15 years.

Justice Atilade said the amnesty granted the inmates was in line with statutory duty to ensure that the prisons were not congested.

She admonished the pardoned inmates to make the best of the amnesty by not returning to criminal activities.

The Chief Judge solicited the support of all relevant stakeholders in the justice system in the effort to decongest the prisons.

Justice Atilade was accompanied on the visit by senior judges from the state high court, officials of the Lagos Ministry of Justice, members of the Nigerian Bar Association, various non-governmental organisations and representatives of the Nigeria Police.

In his remark, the Deputy Comptroller in charge of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Seye Oduntan, thanked the CJ for the amnesty gesture.

Oduntan, who noted that there were still many inmates who deserved pardon, urged the Chief Judge to ensure the continuity of the exercise.

As of Wednesday, the Kirikiri Maximum prison with a holding capacity of 1,053 inmates housed 1,235 inmates. Among them were 772 awaiting trial inmates and 209 convicts. There were 171 inmates on death row, 83 were serving life sentence.

At the Medium prison with a holding capacity of 1,700 inmates, there were 2,853 inmates as of Wednesday. Among them, 2,726 were awaiting trial, 128 had been convicted, 25 were designated as lodgers, 19 are detainees while only one inmate is condemned.

http://www.punchng.com/lagos-cj-frees-153-kirikiri-inmates/

The last thing we need right now is not to have our neighborhoods flooded with miscreants

tellwisdom:



U could be a miscreant to some people, so they are to u. That's life my sister
May God not make us a miscreant o!

Crazy guy

Houseofglam7:
The last thing we need right now is not to have our neighborhoods flooded with miscreants

Pray you don't become a victim of Nigerian police where they exchange an ordinary citizen walking home and framing him deliberately with a richer criminal.

Ok, good for them ooo

Na wao

Its unfair that one would be on awaiting trial for over 10 years!

This is pure wickedness of our judicial system and nonchalancy cum indifference of our so called human rights activists and defenders!

Ever since I visited the prisons on a charity work in 2010, I made up my mind that if retaliation to a whooping slap or blow will land me behind bars, I will better kneel down to say 'thank you' to the person who slapped me and be a free man!

Nothing is incomparable to freedom of movement!

In Buhari's thought ........... More space for Polithiefcians to occupy

Lawyers, what's the implication?

You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free

only in the zoo

zombies shud quote me

Unemployment rate increased...happy 4 them tho

good development...

Ok

slimfit1:


Pray you don't become a victim of Nigerian police where they exchange an ordinary citizen working home and framing him deliberately with a richer criminal.

u meant 'walking' not 'working'....
u should be one of those back-benchers. Lol

Thank God for them.

I hope they turned new leave.

Welcome back... Bt d situation wey nigerians are... Hm noting to say.. May God guide our leaders...!

Good move. Some of the inmates are innocent of whatever that took them to prison. Victims of circumstances. May God help them to reintegrate into the society

Houseofglam7:
The last thing we need right now is not to have our neighborhoods flooded with miscreants

Do you believe all those inmates were criminals? Pray you or any of your loved ones do not get caught-up in the web of the Nigerian Police.

May we never be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

den dey lodge for prison again u go fear accommodation now

Oya now you pple have been freed go and sin no more.

PMB please no re-arrest these 153 people . They don served their fatherland for Kirikiri.

Oya Metuh, Dasuki, kanu, Badeh, Yinusa, Tompolo and co make una dey warm up. Enough vacancy dey for Kirikiri. If any of una want 1room self con with 3 parlours, we get am foc.

Standing trial for 15 years

Overcrowding, underfunding, under-feeding

God! No let me see kirikiri even for dream

I sense a political move

sexaddict08:
Lawyers, what's the implication?

what do you mean by implication??
Is it rocket science that some guys were pardoned..
Or the prisons decongested?

Just hope they ve not freed 153 rogues back to the society..

Nigerian prison does not reform but hardens criminals..

Well, congrats to them nd pray they find something useful doing to avert them going back to crime.

Glory be to God

Houseofglam7:
The last thing we need right now is not to have our neighborhoods flooded with miscreants

There are some times you'll need to deny your hand of being wiser and faster than your brain!

Freeing alone is not enough. Create jobs so these ex convicts can get their hands busy. Otherwise it would be like the words of Jesus: When the demon is cast out and it finds no place, it will come back and when it sees the place neat but unoccupied, would go and bring 7 more demons deadlier than he and the ruins it would have on the person....