In her efforts to decongest the prisons, Wife of Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Mrs Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru, on Tuesday, secured the release of 41 Inmates from Abakaliki Correctional Custodian Centre.

The Centre has a total of 1,265 inmates out of which 31 are females.

All the inmates whose release were secured by the Governor’s Wife are males.

A 16 year old boy, Ogobuchi Ikebe who was convicted for stealing a Bluetooth device, was among those release by Mrs. Nwifuru.

Giving insight to the exercise,
the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Ben Odo explained that the wife of the state Governor, Mrs. Mary-Maudlin Uzoamaka Nwifuru paid the fines of 41 male inmates of the center convicted with option fines.

On why no female inmate benefitted from the gesture, Odo said the 31 female inmates in the Centre, are all facing capital offences of murder.

He noted that if they are convicted, they would be transferred to Enugu maximum prison where those on death sentence are kept, awaiting execution.

“We have here in the Nigerian Correctional Service Custodial Centre, Abakaliki 1, 265 inmates. Out of that 1,265 inmates, 31 are female inmates and all the female inmates have offence attached to them.

“They are charged of capital offences, murder and the matter is still ongoing in court, they have not been sentenced. This is why all the people that their fines have been paid are all males.

“The 31 female inmates that are here still have ongoing matter in court and because they still have ongoing matter in court , we can’t pay for fine of people that have not been sentenced by the court.

“The 31 of them are facing capital offences, the 31 of them are murder. If they are convicted, the implication is that they will not be here. Anybody who is convicted of murder of capital offence, will be sent to Enugu maximum prison where people that are facing death sentence are kept”, Odo said.

One of the freed male inmates, Nwafor Emmanuel, 26, said he had been in the prison since August last year and commended Mrs. Nwifuru for securing this release.

He disclosed that he witnessed the death of five persons in the prison and vowed not to go back to the offence that took him to the prison.

“The condition of inmates in the prison is very pathetic. I witnessed not less than five deaths in the prison and I will not do anything that will take me back to the prison.

“I want to thank the wife of our dear governor for securing my release. I was convicted for stealing electricity generating set”, he said.

Addressing the freed inmates, Mrs. Nwifuru urged them to shun crime to avoid going back to the prison.

She assured that she would continue to fight for the less privileged in the society.