LAGOS APRIL 21ST (URHOBOTODAY)-25 inmates serving various jail terms at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Kwale Custodian Centre in Delta State on Monday regained their freedom following deliberate steps to decongest the centers in order to stem the spread of Coronavirus disease in the state.
The State Chief Judge, Justice Marshal Umukoro told newsmen in Kwale the exercise was a sequel to a directive from Abuja to the State Government to release convicts who have less than three years to serve their terms as a measure to curtail the spread of the ravaging global scourge.
He explained that the beneficiaries fell into the category of those who were terminally ill, low-risk offenders, some who ought not to be there and those who have less than three years to serve.
According to him, those convicted for serious offences like kidnapping, murder and armed robbery were not included in the current exercise, even as he advised such ones to approach the committee on the prerogative of mercy for amnesty.
The Chief Judge charged those pardoned to stay in their houses until the pandemic is over and when the state government lifts the lockdown order, urging them to be law-abiding and refrain from any criminal act that would bring them back to into custody.