The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, has approved the release of 246 inmates from various correctional facilities across the State.
This information is contained in a statement that can be found on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Lagos State Government.
The Governor signed the release of the 246 inmates on December 20, 2023, under the provisions of Section 212 (1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended).
The Lagos State Government maintained that the approval for the release of the inmates is in cognizance of the New Year Celebrations as well as in line with the commitment of Gov. Sanwo-Olu to decongest correctional facilities in Lagos State as part of the Justice Sector Reforms.
According to the statement, the approval for the release of the 246 inmates in correctional facilities across Lagos was backed by due diligence of the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
- “The Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy in reaching its recommendations exercised due diligence in its deliberation of the applications in line with the applicable guidelines.
- “The Council took note of the information provided by the correctional authorities, the nature of the offence, period of incarceration, age, health and behavioural conduct of the inmates,” the statement read in part.
Committal of death sentence of 39 inmates
Aside from the approval for the release of 246 inmates from correctional facilities across Lagos, Gov. Sanwo-Olu also approved the committal of death sentence for 39 inmates to life imprisonment.
The Lagos State Government also signed the communal orders on the 20th of December, 2023 in cognizance of the New Year Celebrations.
The exercise is under the provisions of Section 212 (1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended), the statement said.
What you should know
Over the past few months, the Federal Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ola has made deliberate efforts to decongest custodial centres across the country.
Recall that in November, Nairametrics reported that Tunji-Ola disclosed that the Federal Government spends N3 million every day feeding 4000 inmates in correctional facilities across the country.
According to him, that put a strain on the Federal Government’s resources, hence, the call for the decongestion of custodial centres.
Also, Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government facilitated the release of about 4,086 inmates from custodial centres whose detriment was due to their inability to pay their bail fees.
It was also reported that a total sum of N585 million was paid as a fine for the release of over 4,000 inmates.
The move to decongest the custodial centres across Nigeria is partly economical as it helps ensure the Federal Government is prudent in its allocation of resources, Tunji-Ola maintained.
