Adamawa govt discharges 51 inmates to decongest prisons
A committee that the Adamawa State government assembled to decongest prisons across the state has discharged 51 inmates.
The Adamawa State Jail Delivery Committee effected the discharge on Wednesday in continuation of its mandate to free mostly inmates with light sentences and some with health issues.
The committee, which sat at the Yola Old Correctional Centre in Yola South Local Government Area, also tried 39 inmates who had been awaiting trial for a long time.
The committee, chaired by the Adamawa State Chief Judge, Justice Hafsat Abdulrahaman, granted bail to 26 others who had been in detention, and reviewed the sentences of 21 inmates serving various prison terms.
Speaking shortly after the exercise, Justice Hafsat told those leaving the facility to embrace good conduct upon their return to their respective communities.
She warned that the committee would not extend such leniency to any of them if they were re-arrested and convicted of committing any other offence.
The Adamawa State Jail Delivery Committee has representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Deputy Chief Registrar of the State Area Court, and the Legal Department of the Adamawa State Police Command as members.
Other members include the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Ministry of Justice and the Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, among others.