In an effort to relieve pressure on the institutions, Justice Simeon Amadi, the chief judge of Rivers State, has pardoned 181 inmates housed in the state’s different correctional facilities.
The 181 pardoned prisoners were likewise released from custody and found not guilty of their crimes.
Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day decongestion exercise at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre, Amadi stated that the exercise served as a warm-up for the celebration to celebrate the 2022–2023 state legal year.
Chief Magistrate Friday Poromon, the deputy Chief Registrar in charge of litigation, attended the occasion in Justice Amadi’s stead.
The Chief Judge said, “On November 22, I will embark on another goal delivery exercise as activities put together to herald the 2022/2023 legal year in the state.”
While addressing the pardoned inmates, he said the society contributed more to the congestion of the correctional centres.
“Members of the society have also contributed largely to what we have here. It is sad.
“Simple civil disputes, quarrel over boundaries; people rush to the police stations and insist that the police must bring very heavy charges.
“We also want to put members of the public on notice that the magistracy is no longer a place where you bring any charge from the police stations to get the charge rubber-stamped for the purpose of bringing people here,” he said.
He also mentioned that the state judiciary would ensure it tackled the issues causing delay in the speedy delivery of justice.
“We may not have attended to everybody’s case. It is not possible. We can’t do that within the limited time that we have. But for those of you whose cases are not going on and who are trapped here, from time to time, we will help.
“What we have done today is just a little component of what is going on. Reforms are ongoing within our criminal justice administration system,” the CJ stated.
The newly released prisoners were given advice by Amadi to adjust their behavior and stop doing anything that would bring them back to the prison.
Felix Lawrence, the state’s comptroller of corrections, thanked the chief judge for the exercise and gave the released inmates advice on how to be responsible and upstanding citizens through Chief Superintendent of Corrections Magnus Uchegbu.
