Oladimeji Ramon
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke, on Tuesday freed an inmate at Kirikiri Medium Prison, Lucky Nelson, said to be suffering from tuberculosis and diabetes.
The inmate, who was said to have been in the prison custody since 2012, was pardoned by the CJ, who was on a routine visit to the prison on Tuesday.
The CJ said Nelson was being freed particularly to prevent the contagious disease from spreading among the inmates.
A nursing officer at the prison, who presented Nelson’s case file to the CJ, had noted that the inmate’s case had defied medication.
While freeing him, the CJ said she “considered the period you have been in custody without trial,” charging him “to go out there, be of good behaviour and sin no more.”
Nelson had landed in the prison custody on the allegation that he fraudulently obtained a sum of N25,000 from someone.
The CJ said she freed him on compassionate grounds in exercise of the power conferred on her by virtue of Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) Act, 2007; and Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution.
The CJ, however, declined to release 14 inmates of the Kirikiri Medium Prison whose cases were forwarded to her, “because they failed to meet the criteria for amnesty.”
The same fate befell 10 nursing-mother inmates at the Kirikiri Female Prison whose cases were presented to the CJ.
Justice Oke, while addressing journalists, emphasised that her power to grant amnesty to inmates must be exercised judiciously in order not to end up unleashing unrepentant criminals on the society.
“Fourteen cases were presented to me for consideration but after interviewing them, I found that none of them merited to be pardoned.
“ How can you release, for instance, a child kidnapper or a murderer? That would be a disservice to the society.
“It is very unfortunate but we must follow due process in releasing any inmate in the prison. Remember that members of the society must also be protected, so we don’t just free any inmate without following due process,” the CJ said.
Earlier, she directed the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Titi Shita-Bey; and the Director, Office of the Public Defender, Mrs. Olubukola Salami, and other officials to take the details of the inmates.
In his remarks,the Deputy Comptroller of Prisons at the Kirikir Medium Prison, Oluwaniyi Emmanuel, urged the Lagos State Government to do a downward review of the fine being imposed on offenders by the Lagos State Task Force Mobile Court, saying it was responsible for the overcrowded state of the prison.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: theeditor@punchng.com
source http://punchng.com/lagos-cj-frees-inmate-suffering-from-tuberculosis/
No comments:
Post a Comment