Rivers CJ Grants Pardon To 10 Prison Inmates

The Chief Judge of Rivers State Justice Simeon Amadi on Thursday granted pardon to ten inmates of the Port Harcourt division of the Nigerian Correctional Centers.

The pardoned inmates were serving prison terms for major and minor offences including murder, rape and conspiracy.

Dickezemedia, gathered that the freed inmates had served between five and ten years at the correctional centre.

The Chief Judge, however, stopped the goal delivery exercise after noticing a “disparity in the list of suspects from the Department of State Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission” as well as “the Public Prosecution”.

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Justice Amadi explained that the exercise is pursuant to provisions of section 11 of the Criminal justice law of the federal republic of Nigeria, 2004″ in a bid to decongest the Correctional facilities.

The CJ also directed magistrates who are not on vacation to seat at the prison facility during the vacation to sort out “minor offences and grant bail where necessary”.

The Chief Judge, however, warned those granted pardon not to return to crime or have themselves to blame.

He assured that the exercise will continue when the judges return from vacation.

Magistrate courts should be allowed to handle criminal cases- Rivers CJ, Amadi said.