NEWSMEDIANG.COM
• Police order transfer of recaptured B’Haram inmate
There are no fewer than 3,145 inmates on death row in custodial centres across the country.
The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, in his response to an enquiry by one of our correspondents, said there were 3,084 males and 61 females on death row.
Some lawyers and human rights activists have consistently expressed concerns over the fate of the inmates, as most state governors refuse to sign the death warrant, leading to the rising number of inmates on death row. Some of them have suggested the conversion of the death sentence to life imprisonment, while some argued that if the government wasn’t unwilling to sign the warrant, capital punishment should be expunged from the constitution and other relevant laws.
Meanwhile, despite complaints by several stakeholders, including lawyers and authorities of the NCoS, over the congestion of the facilities, the number of inmates in the custodial centres has continued to rise, fuelling its congestion and making the management of the centres difficult.
Figures on the website of the NCoS indicated that as of July 4, there were a total of 74,675 inmates in the country, comprising 52,714 awaiting trial and 21,961 convicted inmates. Also, the total number of male inmates was given as 73,139 while there were 1,536 female inmates.
‘Police recapture inmate’
The Nasarawa State Police Command on Saturday said it has arrested Hassan Hassan identified as one of the Boko Haram suspects who escaped during the attack on the Kuje Medium Correctional Centre, Abuja.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Ramhan Nansel, who disclosed this in a statement in Lafia, said Hassan was rearrested in the Keffi Local Government Area of the state. He said the suspect would be transferred to a safer location while an intensive search for other fleeing inmates continued.
He said, “The fleeing Boko Haram suspect was recaptured by the eagle-eyed police operatives of the command in Keffi LGA. The Commissioner of Police, Adesina Soyemi, has ordered the transfer of the suspect to a safer location while the intensive search for other escapees and the handover process of the arrested inmate progress.
“CP Soyemi appreciates the efforts of the command’s police operatives for a job well done and assures members of the public of the command’s unrelenting efforts at making the public space safer for all.”
Some terrorists on Tuesday night attacked the Kuje custodial centre, freeing about 879 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram suspects. About 443 inmates have either returned to the facility or were recaptured. One operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and four inmates lost their lives to the attack.
