The governor was represented at the visit to the two Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) centres by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Wole Jimi-Bada.
He said the sole purpose of the visit was to carry out the clear mandate to kickstart the decongestion process of the overcrowded Ilesa and Ile-Ife Correctional Centres.
The state government’s team to the facilities which was received by the Controller-in-charge, Tolu Ogunsakin, included the Special Adviser to the Governor on Legislative Matters, Ropo Oyewole, the Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Justice, Mrs. M.A. Bello, Senior Legal Adviser to the Attorney-General, Debo Oladinni, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs. Folashade Akinrujomu, among others.
Addressing the visitors, Ogunsakin said it was the first time an Attorney General of the state would pay a working visit to the correctional centres to personally interview and interact with awaiting trial inmates who had committed minor offences, and also assess those deserving inmates, whose fines could be defrayed by the state government.
He commended the state government for making efforts to address the festering issue of overcrowded correctional centers filled with more inmates awaiting trial than actual convicts.
At Ilesa Correctional Centre, the state government’s officials were told that there were 766 inmates as against the 585 the facility was built to accommodate.
The officials heard that of the 766 inmates, 655 were awaiting trial and 111 had been convicted.
At Ile-Ife, the NCoS informed the Attorney-General that it was built for 160 capacity but currently had 346 inmates with 302 of them awaiting trials.
Expressing concern at the number of awaiting trial inmates, Wole reiterated the sacrosanct mandate of the governor, which directed him to review deserving cases, discontinue charges where appropriate, and compile a list of inmates who had been of good behaviour and whose fines could possibly be paid by the government for release.
He said utmost caution must be maintained not to reintegrate criminals into the society.
“Over 150 inmates were interviewed at both Correctional Centers by the Attorney-General and his seasoned legal team. Each inmate’s case record was carefully and painstakingly scrutinized by the Attorney-General, with a litany of questions posed to the awaiting trial inmates, who had committed minor offences to ascertain their respective offences and took note of necessary steps to be taken to expedite action on their cases. “The Attorney-General assured the Controller that necessary measures will be put in place to stem the ugly tide of overcrowded correctional centers,” said Oladunni in a statement availed The Nation.
According to him, the Attorney General was moved by the plight of a teenage and illiterate inmate, who claimed to be a scrap scavenger and was convicted for stealing iron rods and sentenced to three years imprisonment, with an option of N150,000 fine.
“The Attorney-General personally paid the fine of the said inmate, upon hearing the sad account of his predicament, and promised to ensure his proper rehabilitation, in order to ensure he is reintegrated into the society.
“The Attorney-General observed that a bevy of awaiting trial inmates were incarcerated for cases related to breach of contract, which were civil in nature and promised to take steps to arrest the ugly tide,” he said.
Peoplesmind
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