Niger Govt. pays N20m fines to secures release of 80 inmates

Niger government has secured the release of 80 inmates by paying N20 million fines for them to reunite and celebrate Sallah with their families.

Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger said at a ceremony at Medium Correctional Custodial Centre in Minna on Monday that the release of the inmates was in the interest of fairness.

The inmates were released from eight Correctional centres in the state.

Gov. Bago, represented by Mr Yakubu Garba, Deputy Governor, advised the inmates to integrate into the society and desist from acts capable of returning them back to the correctional centres.

“We secured their release in the interest of fairness since this is their first crimes and the crimes are minor. The inmates are young in age and needed help,” he said.

He appealed to the inmates to take advantage of their freedom and engage in useful ventures, be law abiding and shun acts that would lead them back to correctional facilities.

Earlier, Hajiya Aishatu Usman, Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs, said the state governor approved the payment for the release of the 80 inmates from eight correctional centres in the state.

She said their release was in line with the power of Prerogative of Mercy as guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In his remarks, Mr Salman Abdulkadir, Controllers of Nigeria Correctional Service, Niger state Command, disclosed that the state government paid about N20 million as fines and compensation.

He said the release of the inmates would help decongest the prisons and advised the inmates to see their release as a second chance to amend their ways.

One of the discharged inmates, Danjuma Dankambari, appreciated the governor for securing their freedom and promised be law abiding and a better citizen.