Justice Kazeem Alogba, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, granted amnesty to 30 prisoners on Thursday and directed their reintegration into society. Out of the 40 inmates slated for pardon, six were sent back to prison while the remaining four had errors in their names.
The 30 inmates were released during an open court session at the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Ogba. Four of them were juveniles from the Borstal Training Institution in Adigbe, Abeokuta, where they were given educational and vocational training to help them re-enter society.
The other inmates were released from Ikoyi and Kirikiri custodial facilities. Some of them had been in the facilities since 2013. The chief judge said that the exercise was in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to decongest custodial centers, as stated in Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Act of 2007 and Section 377 (c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice (Amendment) Law 2021.
“I am not a Father Christmas; the exercise we are witnessing today is a self-cleansing exercise as provided for in the law.
“It is guided by relevant laws upon fulfillment of requisites,” he said.
Alogba declared that amnesty was granted to those who had been detained for longer than their sentence would have been, as well as those whose trials had been delayed.
He stated that this was due to systemic failure, not the judiciary, but other factors. The chief judge praised the committee that examined the cases of those released, noting that they had done a thorough job.
