Justice Aisha Basir-Aliyu, Chief Judge (CJ) of Nasarawa State has discharged 167 inmates awaiting trial across the five Federal Correctional Centres in the state.
Bashir-Aliyu discharged the inmates during a routine official visit to Lafia, Wamba, Nasarawa medium, Keffi Old and Keffi Modern Custodian Centres.
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday in Lafia at the end of the visit to the facilities, the CJ said the tour was in compliance with the policy of President Bola Tinubu and in line with the law.
She added that with the congestion of custodian Centres President Bola Tinubu had directed that the custodian facilities should be decongested.
The CJ said the law empowers her to go round the custodian facilities from time to time to review cases of awaiting trial to ensure that justice was served.
She gave the breakdown of those discharged from various custodian facilities as; Lafia 49, Wamba 33, Nasarawa 16, Keffi Old 30 and 39 from Keffi Modern Custodian.
“The exercise was aimed at seeing to the health and well-being of the inmates, discharge those wrongly incarcerated or who stayed more than the punishment they are being charged for.
The custodian facilities are not meant to punish the inmates, but to reform them and make them better persons afterwards,” she added.
The Chief Judge called on the society to accept those that were released and promised that the judiciary under her would dispense cases in good time in order to decongest the custodian centres.
She urged lower court Judges to desist from sending accused persons to correctional centres unnecessarily so that the facilities would not be congested.
“Always try settlement except if it is unavoidable before you send the accused to custodian centres,” she added.
The CJ said most of the custodian centres were already overstretched by more than two times their capacities.
She warned the discharged inmates to stay away from crimes or if caught again, they would face maximum punishment.
The Chief Judge also warned judiciary staff against indulging in corrupt practices, adding that anyone caught would be sanctioned accordingly.
On his part, Mr Adamu Yahaya, Nasarawa State Controller of Correctional Services appreciated the CJ and her team for the visit.
He explained that the visit had really put smile on the faces of the inmates and had given those released second chances to be law abiding and responsible members of the society.
The controller however appealed to families and friends of inmates to desist from supplying marijuana to them in custody.
“We have recorded cases where friends of family members of inmates supplied them with marijuana either at the court or at the custodian centres during visit.
“We caught some of them and one of the relative that was caught is currently serving jail term at Nasarawa custodian centre,” the controller added.
He therefore advised the released inmates to desist from committing crimes that could bring them back to jail again.
Krestnews source reports that the Chief Judge was accompanied at the visit by the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, National Human Right Commission, Police legal team, private lawyers, judges of superior and lower courts as well as counsels from the Ministry of Justice among ot(NAN).