The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, on Wednesday ordered the repatriation of some nationals of Benin, Niger and Togo, who were among 38 newly freed inmates of the Ikoyi and Badagry custodial centres.
The inmates were pardoned at an open court session presided over by the Chief Judge on the premises of the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Igbosere.
The PUNCH l earnt that out of the 38 inmates, two were from Benin Republic, two from Niger Republic and one from Togo.
Upon the release of the inmates, the CJ ordered that they should be repatriated to their countries.
Alogba, who noted that the exercise was in line with the efforts of the Federal Government to decongest prisons as part of efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, stated that he granted the inmates pardon pursuant to Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act.
He urged the freed inmates to be of good behaviour, adding that harsher punishment awaited them if caught committing crimes again.
The Controller of the Lagos Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Samuel Iyakoregha, stated that the release of the inmates was a relief to the facilities.
“Exercises like this are very needful because we use them to control our inmates to be of good behaviour and bring some kind of relief to them,” he added.
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