The State Chief Judge, Justice Marshal Umukoro, has freed 34 awaiting trial inmates of the Sapele prison in continuation of his visit to prison formations in the state.
The Chief Judge, said the prison visit was not essentially to open the doors of the prisons for the inmates to gain freedom, but to review cases and determine whether people were imprisoned by the order of competent jurisdiction or not.
Justice Umukoro decried the increase in cases of armed robbery and murder, stressing that the society needed to rise to the challenge, particularly at the family level.
He said his office would ensure that no one was unlawfully imprisoned as that would amount to injustice.
The Chief Judge urged parents to take proper care of their children to stop them from going into crime, and appealed to the federal government to embark on more prison reforms and improve the facilities in the prisons.
The Deputy Comptroller of prisons in charge of the Sapele Prison, Mr. Ejekhine Ahmed, commended the state government for paying the fines for some of the inmates which had helped to decongest the prisons.
He also appreciated the government for providing vehicles for the easy movement of awaiting trial inmates to court.
Some of the awaiting trial inmates who regained their freedom expressed gratitude to God and the State Chief Judge for the privilege and promised not to go back to crime.
A total of 309 cases were reviewed by the Chief Judge out of which 34 were considered for release.
One inmate was granted bail, while another was released in the Remand Home, Sapele.
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