Katsina CJ decongests prisons, frees 185 inmates

The Katsina State Chief Judge, Justice Musa Abubakar Danladi, has ordered the release of a total of 185 inmates of Katsina Prisons as part of measures aimed at curtailing the spread of COVID-19 by limiting social gathering and contacts.

A statement by the Chief Registrar of Katsina State Judiciary, Alhaji Kabir Shu’aibu and made available to news men in Katsina yesterday, said the measures were in compliance to the directives of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control ,NCDC, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Muhammad Tanko, to heads of court in Nigeria.

He said, “Following the directive of NCDC and CJN over curtailing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the directive to decongest over crowded correctional facility, the Chief Judge of Katsina State has during a visit to the Centers reviewed 200 cases over the detention order of persons awaiting trials in part of Katsina State.”

A breakdown of those released showed that 146 were awaiting trial inmates, 128 critically sick inmates who were conditionally released and eleven other awaiting trials who were discharged.

The registrar further stated that the Katsina CJ has also directed judges of high court on all judicial divisions across the state to review all cases and detention orders of persons awaiting trial in various courts in the state and exercise their powers in discretion to grant bail to deserving cases.

In a related development, two non-government organisations, namely: Hospitals Friends Association (HFA) and Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (ACRO), have paid the court fines of 28 inmates which led to their being discharged from the Correctional Centers.

The two NGO also donated sanitary items including sanitisers, disinfectants, soaps and face marks to the correctional centres during their visit.