Akeredolu grants pardon to 16 prisoners in Ondo

The Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has granted amnesty to 16 inmates of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Akure, the state capital.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Segun Ajiboye, on Monday.

According to the statement, the governor’s gesture was in line with exercising the powers conferred on him by paragraph (d) of sub-section (1) Section 212 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The statement said the governor Akeredolu, wrote a letter to the state Controller of Nigerian Correctional Service in Akure and ordered that 16 of the inmates be discharged out of the custodian centre accordingly and forthwith.

It also stated that the governor ordered that the beneficiaries should be inmates who had been duly convicted of various terms of imprisonment and had served portions of the said sentences.

The statement read, “Following a recommendation made to the governor by the state Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Governor Akeredolu consequently, exercises the power in relation to the said inmates to mark the 2020 New Year Celebrations.

“The 16 inmates were also confirmed to have been of good conduct before they were ordered to be released by the governor.

“In the same vein, the governor also exercises the power conferred on him by paragraphs (a)(c) and (d) of Sub-section (1) of Section 212 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) extends grace and mercy to three condemned inmates.

“The governor commutes to life imprisonment, the three condemned inmates, who have been awaiting execution.”