FG grants amnesty to 4,000 prisoners, gives reason
- The federal government has disclosed the reason for launching its prison amnesty programme
- The minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is unhappy over the congestion of prisons
- Aregbesola reveals the main cause of prison congestion in Nigeria
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The federal government has disclosed that it has released 4,000 inmates so far under its amnesty programme.
The minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the disclosure on Thursday, January 21, at a parade organised in honour of the outgoing controller general of corrections, Ja’afaru Ahmed, The Nation reported.
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According to Aregbesola, the amnesty programme has helped to decongest prisons in the country.
He said the slow pace of the judicial system was one of the major reasons for prison congestion, according to Daily Trust.
The minister complained that the correction service had a deluge of Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs) as against convicts.
He said:
“Now, the decongestion of our custodial centres has made more than 4,000 inmates gain freedom through the Federal Government Amnesty Programme.”
Aregbesola explained that the Buhari administration has improved the quality of lives of inmates by approving an increase in budgetary provision to the service.
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Meanwhile, to commemorate the beginning of the New Year, Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai has ordered the release of 12 convicts from correctional centres in the state, The Cable reported.
A statement from Muyiwa Adekeye, the special adviser on media and communication, indicates that the beneficiaries were granted leniency based on the recommendation of the advisory council on the prerogative of mercy.
The breakdown of prisoners released includes 10 inmates who had six months or less to the end of their 3-year sentence, while two others were pardoned due to age.
In another news, Senator Shehu Sani has shared his experience at the Abakaliki prison in 1995 when he was arrested by the Abacha regime via his social media page on Tuesday, December 8.
The former Kaduna federal lawmaker recalled how he shared the same space with Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, who later died in the prison.
Sani revealed that he alongside Late Yar'adua had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal.
Aregbesola resumes, says he has 20 years public service experience | Legit TV
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