January 19, (THEWILL) – Ogun State Chief Judge, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, has granted amnesty to twenty inmates across the three Senatorial Districts of the state as part of effort to decongest Correctional Centres in Ogun State.
Dipeolu who disclosed this at a conference held at the Judiciary Complex, Abeokuta, the state capital, said that 20 inmates were released in three correctional centres in the state.
She noted that 10 were discharged from Abeokuta, two from Ijebu-Ode, Seven from Ilaro and one from Sagamu correctional centres
The Chief Judge divulged that the inmates who were granted amnesty had been in custody for certain number of years whose criminal offenses, ranges from rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, among others.
Dipeolu, therefore, advised them not to go back to crimes, expressing satisfaction in the way people now know their rights and keep filing cases at the court.
“People keep filing cases as they are aware of their rights, that is why we keep increasing the number of judges as much as the State can afford. Also, we keep having sensitisation programmes for people to know their rights, as justice delayed is not what we want in the State”, she noted.
The Chief Judge stated that the exercise was held at the State High Court, instead of the usual visitation across the correctional centres in the State, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, promising that another phase of release would be done in the next four months.
On his part, the State Controller of Correctional Centre, Mr Alimi Rasheed, said the Federal Government had intensified effort to upkeep and decongest the correctional centres in the state, lauding the state government for its support in ensuring prompt justice dispensation.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, Mr Hezekiah Olujobi, commended the initiative of the Chief Judge for conducting the exercise at the High Court, pointing out that the move was cost-effective, stress free and time saving.
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