Anambra Prisons set to hang 30 inmates

www.odogwublog.com reports that thirty (30) inmates in various prisons in Anambra State will die soon by hanging, according to the Anambra State Controller of Prisons, Mr. Emmanuel Nwakaeze.

The Controller of Prisons said during a press briefing on Friday in Awka, the state capital that the Prison is set for their hanging.

He told journalists that the condemned prisoners had stayed upwards of two years in jail.

He said no fewer than 1,574 inmates out of the 1,761 in prisons in Anambra State were awaiting trial for various offences, which he said constituted 78 per cent of the total number of inmates in the state prisons.

The Controller said the Awka prison housed 374 inmates; Onitsha Prison, 887 inmates; Nnewi Prison, 282 inmates; and Aguata Prison, 218 inmates.

He said the inmates, who had opted to pay fines instead of serving jail terms were released by the state governor and the Chief Judge between December 2017 and March 2018.

He said, “Others are still awaiting conclusion of their trial and so, they still have to remain in prison custody until the court pronounces otherwise.”

On the allegations that prison officials extorted money before taking inmates to court, Nwakaeze described that as “absolute falsehood”.

He said, “No prison official will ever extort money from prisoners for any reasons whatsoever.”

On the welfare of inmates, the Controller said congestion was the major challenge to the command because it created room for unhealthy environment that could lead to outbreak of cholera, tuberculosis and other diseases.

He appealed to the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, nongovernmental organisations and philanthropists to assist the command with waste disposal tanks, transformer, ambulances and other life-saving amenities.

He said, “We have few vehicles that take inmates to courts and back from there. Our clinics are not properly equipped to take care of the sick ones among them.

He commended the Controller General of Prisons, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed, for the transformation he had introduced in the prison system, especially on the welfare and promotion of staff and other measures put in place to decongest the prisons across the country.