Oyo Chief Judge frees 30 inmates in Ibadan, to decongest prisons

    The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, ordered the released of no fewer than 30 inmates from the Agodi prison, Ibadan.

The inmates included 25 inmates who were released unconditionally, 3 who were released on bail. Others include one who was sent to the remand home on age basis and another who was released on bail to continue with his trial.


He added that most of those released include those who were wrongfully charged, those that had stayed beyond their prison sentence and those that were supposed to be brought on a civil case and not by a criminal code.


Abimbola while speaking said that the judiciary arm in the state has introduced the parole system into its administration of criminal justice to further aid the bid to decongest the prison, speed up the justice process.

The parole system according to him is provided for in the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Oyo state, Part 43, Section 456 which provides that where the Comptroller General of prison raises a report recommending that a prisoner sentenced and serving his sentence in prison is of good behavior and where he has served at least one third of his prison term where he is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of at least 15 years or life imprisonment, the court after listening to prosecution and prison authority, can order that his sentence be suspended with or without conditions and the prisoner will be released from prison.

Abimbola stated that if prison authority makes use of this act, it will help the system, adding that his visit to the prison is not only to ensure justice but is manifestly seen to be done, adding that Section 36 (5) of the law holds that suspects are presumed innocent until proved otherwise and when suspects are unduly incarcerated and put behind bars for longer than necessary, the law provides for the release of such suspects.

Abimbola stated that it is better for 10 guilty people to be set free than for one innocent person to be incarcerated unduly, urging any of the inmates that qualifies for pardon to desist from crime so that they would not find their ways back behind bars. He siad in such a case, they would not get a chance of the prerogative of mercy.

Abimbola then ordered the released of the 30 inmates from the prison. Comptroller of Prisons in Oyo state, Tosin Akinromoju stated that the CJ’s visit was timely as the prison facility was already overstretched.

He said that the prison built in the pre-colonial era was designed to cater for 300 inmates but as at Tuesday morning, the prison had 1150 inmates with only 100 convicted.

He said that the convicted inmates include 95 male and 15 female while the remaining 950 are awaiting trial inmates.

At the end of the sitting, Justice Abimbola released 30 inmates; 25 were released unconditionally, three were released on bail, one was sent to the remand home on age basis and one was released on bail to continue with his trial.

Source: Daily Post