Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, on Tuesday released 51 inmates of the Agodi Prisons, Ibadan, in a bid to decongest the facility.
The 51 inmates were released from the 205 cases presented for consideration before the chief judge. The cases were reviewed for about eight hours, before the conclusion of the visit to the Agodi Prisons.
The released persons comprised inmates below 18 years, aged and sick ones who got the compassion of the chief judge, judicial officers and other stakeholders who took part in the court trial.
Abimbola noted that “we have the data, which has just been given to us by the controller of prison. I will mention it. As at today (May 21, 2019), we have a total number of 1,052 awaiting trial inmates. Out of these, 1,041 are males, and 11 are females. The capacity of this prison is 390.
“Undoubtedly, you will see that there is congestion in the prison. And therefore, it is our duty to ensure that this congestion is actually reduced.”
Justice Abimbola said the exercise was geared towards implementing the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws 2016 of the state, which encourages speedy dispensation of justice.
He stated further that the judiciary would ensure that family court commences operations in the state before the next legal year in order to promote Child Rights Laws, in response to the high number of minors, whose cases were presented before him.