Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, the Chief Judge of Ogun State has explained why she granted amnesty to 20 inmates across the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
She said apart from decongesting the Correctional Centres, Justice Dipeolu pointed out that those granted the amnesty had been in custody for a certain number of years with different criminal offences, ranging from rape, armed robbery, kidnapping among others, advising them not to go back into crime.
Speaking at the conference hall of the Judiciary Complex in Abeokuta, during the release of the inmates, Justice Dipeolu said ten were discharged in Abeokuta, two from Ijebu-Ode, seven from Ilaro and one from Sagamu Correctional Centres.
“People keep filing cases as they are aware of their rights, that is why we keep increasing the number of judges as much as the State can afford. Also, we keep having sensitisation programmes for people to know their rights, as justice delayed is not what we want in the State”, she said.
She stated that the exercise was held at the State High Court, instead of the usual visitation across the correctional centres in the State due to the COVID-19 pandemic, promising that another phase of release would be done in the next four months.
On his part, the State Controller of Correctional Centre, Mr Alimi Rasheed, said the Federal Government had intensified effort to upkeep and decongest the correctional centres in the State, appreciating the State government for its support in ensuring prompt justice dispensation.