The Lagos state Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba has released 30 inmates out of the five custodial centers in Lagos state that hold almost 9,000 inmates and the Borstal home in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Justice Alogba released the inmates during the Decongestion of the Custodial Centers Exercise 2023 held at the Samuel Ilori Courthouse, Ogba on Thursday.
The Justice Adenike Coker Decongestion Committee recommended 40 inmates to the Chief Judge for release.
The Chief Judge released 30 inmates from both the Medium and Maximum Custodial Centers and sent 6 back to custody, after he interviewed them.
He charged the released inmates not to return to the crimes they were accused with.
Justice Alogba released four juvenile offenders from the Abeokuta borstal home, where they also learned a skill.
The juvenile offenders were held in custody for offenses including stealing, breaking and entering and possession of a firearm.
Justice Alogba carried out the 2023 decongestion exercise pursuant to Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release From Custody Act, Cap C40, Laws Of The Federation Of Nigeria 2007, S 377(c) of the Administration Of Criminal Justice (Amendment) Law 2021, and other extant laws.
The Chief Judge said he would only grant freedom to inmates who qualified to be released under the law, including those whose trials have been stalled and have been in custodial centers for a long time.
“The decongestion exercise is an indication of a systemic failure,” the Chief Judge said.
Justice Alogba tied the failure to the slow pace at which cases were tried and judged in court.
“These cases are not delayed because of the Magistrates, but because of auxiliary reasons,” the Chief Judge added.
The Lagos state Comptroller of the Nigerian Correctional Services; Ben Freedman, represented by DCC Comfort Obiosio, said the Lagos state custodial centers are holding almost 9,000 inmates.
She thanked Justice Alogba for carrying out a decongestion exercise.
The Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, represented by DCP Waheed Ayilara, said he believed the inmates must have learned valuable lessons.
A non-governmental organization, The Knights of Saint Mulumba (KSM), thanked the Chief Judge and appealed to him to release inmates who were held for felonies and have already done the time for their sentences without trial.
The KSM pledged to give each inmate N30,000 released by the Chief Judge to give them a new lease of life.
