The Rivers State Judiciary has released 150 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre as part of its goal delivery exercise for the 2024/2025 legal year.
The initiative, aimed at decongesting correctional facilities across the state, saw 109 inmates discharged by the Magistrates’ Court and 41 others freed by the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi.
Speaking during the exercise at the Port Harcourt facility, Justice Chibuzor-Amadi described the exercise as both constitutional and humanitarian, carried out under the powers vested in him by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Rivers State.
He said the review targeted inmates who had spent longer than necessary in custody without trial, those whose case files were missing, and others whose circumstances merited reconsideration.
The Chief Judge called for closer collaboration among the police, the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, and the correctional service to improve investigations and ensure speedy dispensation of justice. He also urged the released inmates to turn a new leaf and make meaningful contributions to society.
The Controller of Correctional Centres, Rivers State Command, Felix Madumere, commended the judiciary under the leadership of Justice Chibuzor-Amadi for its efforts in decongesting custodial facilities and promoting justice.
He also advocated for the establishment of a Board of Prerogative of Mercy and the improvement of prison infrastructure to accommodate inmates, particularly those on death row or serving life sentences, as part of efforts to further ease overcrowding in correctional centres across the state.
