Chief judge frowns at keeping of minors and adult offenders in same facility

Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Justice Aisha Bashir, expressed misgivings on Tuesday in Lafia that underage offenders were being kept in the same custodial centre as their adult counterparts.

She said during a routine visit to the Nasarawa Correctional Centre in Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state that she would send an advisory to Gov. Abdullahi Sule to end the practice.

Justice Bashir noted that the governor had earlier agreed in principle that the two classes of offenders be separated.

She stressed that it was wrong to keep minors in the same facility with adult offenders.

“I have consulted with Gov. Sule that the isolation centre at Shabu community in Lafia be used to keep underage offenders.

“The governor already directed that I write a memo in that regard and by the grace of God, we will submit the memo on Thursday, Aug. 24.

“The facility in Lafia is well secured and furnished already and once our memo is approved, we shall have where to keep minors who committed offence,’’ she said.

Justice Bashir released nine awaiting-trial inmates of the Nasarawa Custodial Centre after establishing that they were being incarcerated needlessly.

She advised the released inmates to work hard and to convince the society that they were now reformed to enable the public to trust, accept and contribute to their rehabilitation.

Earlier, Controller of Custodial Service in Nasarawa State, Mr Inusa Adamu, lauded the Justice Bashir for the visit and expressed optimism that some inmates would regain freedom at the end of the day.

He complained, however, that the custodial facility was over-populated and overstretched.

Mr Adamu also told the chief judge that the Nigeria Custodial Service in Nasarawa State had started rejecting minors and appealed to her to facilitate the establishment of a custodial home for them.