Yuletide: 57 Inmates Freed As Akwa Ibom CJ Ends Tour Of Custodial Centres

In the spirit of the Yuletide season, a total of 57 awaiting trial inmates have been released from four Correctional facilities located in the three Senatorial Districts of Uyo, Ikot Ekpene and Eket in Akwa Ibom State on compassionate ground by the state’s Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Ekaette Fabian Obot, after the just-concluded jail delivery exercise at the weekend.

LEADERSHIP garthered that in the course of the inspection visits to the Custodial Centres, which commenced between December 13 and 15, 2023, the CJ painstakingly reviewed all the awaiting trial cases in the four Custodial Centres and released the 57 inmates.

Giving the breakdown of the the 57 freed inmates, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the State Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), ACS Richard Metong, said four were released from Ikot Abasi, six from Eket, 14 from Ikot Ekpene, and 33 from Uyo.

In her remarks, the Chief Judge appreciated the State Command of NCoS “for the good job of providing safe, secured, and humane custody for the teeming population of inmates in the Command,” and commended the Controller of Corrections, officers, and men of the Command for the neat environment of the Custodial Centres, and the healthy physical appearance of the inmates.

In his address, the Controller of Corrections, Akwa Ibom State Command, Julius Ezugwu, on behalf of the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, thanked the CJ and the entire judiciary in the state “for the robust synergy with the Command and for coming to the aid of the inmates as the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.”

The Controller also expressed deep gratitude to Justice Obot, “for not only granting mercy and pardon to the inmates, but also for going the extra mile to provide relief items and welfare packages including mattresses, drugs, toiletries, amongst others, to the various Centres,” even as he advised the freed inmates to be of good behaviour, desist from crime and criminality, and make good use of the skills they have acquired in the facilities.

However, in appreciation of what they described as the the CJ’s motherly disposition towards them, the lucky inmates at the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Uyo, on behalf of others, presented a beautifully crafted handbag to Justice Obot, to appreciate her gesture.