Skip to main content

Nigerian Prisons Service Failed To Release 65 Soldiers Granted Presidential Pardon By Buhari In April – Falana

A senior lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, has accused the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) of failing to release 65 convicted soldiers who were granted presidential pardon by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had in April 2020 approved an amnesty for 2,600 inmates in different custodial centres, including the army officers.

Femi Falana (SAN)


He said, “For instance, 65 convicted soldiers who have met the conditions outlined in the Presidential Amnesty granted to certain categories of prison inmates in April 2020 are still languishing in prison custody. There were 66 of them but one of has been released from prison custody. No reason has been adduced by the prison authorities for not releasing the others.”

Falana, while reacting to the release of six convicts repatriated from Thailand to complete their prison terms in Nigeria but subsequently held in Kirikiri Maximum Prison many years beyond their release dates, called for a comprehensive audit of all inmates in the nation’s correctional centres.

The released inmates are Azukaeme Henry Ejikeme, George Chibuike Onyeama, Kennedy Tanya, Yakubu Yahuza Mohammed, Mrs Gloria Ogbonna and Wasiu Amusan, alias John Smith.

He said, “Sometime in June 2020, we we were contacted by eight Nigerians who were convicted in Thailand and transferred to Nigeria on October 2, 2012 under a Prison Exchange Bilateral Programme. They alleged that they had been abandoned in the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre after they had been granted Royal Pardon by the Thai King. We confirmed the allegation and decided to launch a legal battle for their release from prison custody. 

“On July 2, 2020 our law firm requested the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Onyeama, to direct the Nigerian Embassy in Thailand to furnish us with the warrant for the release of the convicts. The minister did and the embassy procured and sent six warrants to Nigeria. The warrants were promptly forwarded to us.
 
“On August 25, we wrote to the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, urging him to direct the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre to release the convicts from custody. As the request was subjected to bureaucratic hiccup we were compelled to file six applications at the Federal High Court for the immediate and unconstitutional release of the convicts. Even though the case has been adjourned to January 25, 2021 for definite hearing, the Minister of Interior granted our request last week for the release of the convicts. Accordingly, they were released on December 26, 2020. We are pursuing the case of the remaining two convicts. 

“It is unfortunate that the convicts have been detained illegally since 2017 when the Thai King granted them amnesty. A few months ago, we also secured the release of an awaiting trial inmate who was charged with armed robbery and abandoned in the same correctional centre. The legal advice rendered by the Attorney-General of Lagos State to the effect that he had no case to answer, received by the police six years earlier, was not transmitted to the magistrate’s court that had remanded him in prison custody. 

“Both cases call for a comprehensive audit of all inmates in the nation’s correctional centres.”

Human Rights

Military

News

AddThis

Original Author

SaharaReporters, New York

Disable advertisements

from 24HRSNEWS
via 24HRSNEWS



from EDUPEDIA247https://ift.tt/3hsFeGD
via EDUPEDIA

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis : 

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi