By Monday Osayande, Asaba
Delta State Chief Judge, Justice Tessy Diai, has released one out of the 448 inmates at the Ogwashi-Uku Medium Security Custodial Centre. Diai explained that the inmate, Chinonso Aduba, who was standing trial for conspiracy and murder, has no case to answer based on legal advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
When interviewed, shortly after the release, Aduba 27, who claimed innocence of the alleged crime, narrated that he was in his house at Akwuku-Igbo; on the fateful day when his friend called him on phone that there was work for them.
According to him, while they were entering a camp, a woman warned them not to go further because something had happened in the area, but his stubborn friend asked him to ignore the warning. He said when they proceeded further; Akwuku-Igbo Vigilante group apprehended them and took them to Akwuku-Igbo police station, from where they were taken to the anti-kidnapping unit. He thanked the DPP for their thorough investigation, which exonerated him of the alleged crime and led to his freedom.
MEANWHILE, an inmate at the centre has appealed to the Federal Government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to send instructors to the facility to equip them with requisite skills so that they could be useful to themselves and society when they eventually regain freedom.
Master Gabriel Uwaya, 18, currently standing trial at the High Court 4, Asaba for murder, urged Justice Diai, who is currently touring prison facilities across the state, to use her good office to attract government attention to the issue.
Uwaya stated that the centre has three workshops built for carpentry, tailoring and barbing saloon, but none of them has qualified instructors or equipment for acquiring vocational skills.
He disclosed that the assistant controller of correction in charge of the centre, Mr. John Amanzi Unamba, has been very kind, generous and compassionate to inmates even as he prayed for God’s protection and blessings.
Earlier, Unamba had informed the chief judge that the working relationship between staff of the High Court and that of the centre remained cordial. He disclosed that the facility has 560 inmates as at Thursday, April 20, 2023, comprising 152 convicts and 408 awaiting trial.
So far, the chief judge has visited three custodial centres across the state, where she reviewed total warrants of 977, to-wit: Kwale 292, Agbor 237 and Ogwashi-Uku 448. Out of this number, one inmate was discharged and one granted bail.
Source: The Guardian