Chief Judge of Bauchi State, Justice Rabi Talatu Umar, has freed 18 inmates awaiting trial in the state.
She expressed dismay over the rampant cases of alleged witchcraft in the circle of legal jurisprudence, saying, “If you are not a witch, you cannot know who is a witch. It is an issue that could hardly be established, unless the witch confesses to be one.”
Justice Rabi warned judges and magistrates against putting outrageous compensation on convicts, especially where the ruling has an option of fine.
She observed that the imposition of heavy compensation often prolongs the stay of convicts in the correctional centre and warned that henceforth, any judge who imposes an outrageous compensation on convicts would be forced to pay or bear the cost.
The Chief Judge described the imposition of heavy compensation on convicts such as N100,000, N200,000 or even N300,000 as an encouragement for stealing and urged judges to put reasonable compensation where necessary, while tempering justice with mercy.
“I am disturbed with my observation concerning the issue of compensation being imposed by most of the judges. Where do you expect such an accused or convict to get that amount of money, unless you want them to go back to that same crime when they leave the prison so as to meet up with the demand of the court.
“So, while imposing your sentence, I want you to be reasonable enough in the amount of compensation you will request the convict to pay; you don’t look at what he has done in the past.
I know most of you consider what he has stolen, it’s not possible for a person to recover fully what he had lost.
“One of the things you will consider is that the convict has been punished. He might have been imprisoned for 2 or 3 years, and he still has to cough out the equivalent of the money stolen; the other party too has to forfeit something.”
