2,413 inmates await trial in A’Ibom correctional centres – Ezeugwu

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Comptroller, Akwa Ibom Correctional Service, Mr Julius Ezeugwu has said 2,413 inmates are awaiting trial in the facilities across the state.

Ezeugwu stated that only 441 out of a total of 2,854 inmates in the facilities have been convicted, and lamented that the custodian centres in the state are overcrowded.

He appealed for the domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in the state to help decongest their facilities, saying the large number of inmates awaiting trial was responsible for the overcrowded centres.

Speaking at the weekend during a one-day capacity building for the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC), organised by the Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre in collaboration with Macarthur Foundation, the Comptroller said the centres were supposed to be a place to reform convicts, and not take care of persons on awaiting trial list.

“We have a total of 2,854 inmates in the core facility of the command, that is, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, and Ikot Abasi, respectively. Out of the total number, we have about 441 convicts and 2413 inmates awaiting trial.

“I want to say that the correctional service has been doing its part creditably and I am happy that this workshop on ACJL will lighten the weight of the correctional service in the state,” he stated.

Declaring the workshop open, the State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ekaette Obot said domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act by the Criminal Justice Law of the state would have a great impact on the criminal justice system in the state.

Obot commended the Centre for organizing the workshop, noting that the knowledge acquired from the event would help in the administration of criminal justice in the state.