Christmas: Ebonyi Governor’s Wife facilitates release of 53 inmates

The Ebonyi Governor’s wife, Mrs. Marymaudline Nwifuru, has facilitated the release of 53 inmates from Abakaliki Correction Service.

Mrs. Nwifuru said on Wednesday that the intervention was prompted by her visit to the centre last October, where she discovered that some people were convicted with the option of a fine but could not go home because of their inability to perfect the bail condition.

She said that the freed inmates would be included in her empowerment programmes to enable them to abstain from all forms of criminality.

This, the governor’s wife said, would be done through her project, the Better Health for Rural Women, Children, and Internally Displaced Persons Foundation (BERWO).

“I am delighted to be here to witness the act of God upon your lives and to felicitate with you in the spirit of Christmas.

“Today’s event is in line with the people's charter of needs and my modest project, BERWO, which provides succour and assured hope,” she said.

According to her, there was another category of inmates who were granted bail with conditions, but the people could not perfect their bail conditions, having noticed the situation as the mother of the state.

“I intimated with her husband, the Governor, over the plights of people, and out of magnanimity, the governor supported by undertaking to pay the court fines and the perfection of the conditions of the bail to secure their freedom,” she explained.

Mrs. Nwifuru appealed to the freed persons to live in accordance with the law of the land in order not to be a burden to society.

She urged the good-spirited individuals to assist the freed persons in their various areas, mostly as they have learned their lessons and are ready to turn a new leaf.

In his remarks, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Bernard Odo, said that the decongestion of the centre required a drastic measure.

Odo noted that the capacity of Abakaliki Centre is 387 inmates, but regrettably, the place is housing 1,466 inmates.

He said, “The comptroller has written to me that there is no more chance to accommodate others, and on that note, his men would not accept other persons.

“In the course of my assessment of one of the cells, I discovered that one cell contains 126 people with one toilet,” Odo said.

He commended the governor’s wife for the gesture and described freedom of liberty as the greatest of the fundamental human rights.

The attorney general encouraged the freed persons to utilise the opportunity optimally by avoiding crime.

He frowned at the dilapidating criminal justice system in the country and called for remedy for the deteriorating situation.

The Assistant Comptroller of Correction, Mr. Benedict Oyoko, in charge of the Medium Security Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi Command, applauded Mrs. Nwifuru and appealed for continuous support.

Oyoko added that the exercise had saved the beneficiaries from the overcrowding of the centre and a possible outbreak of disease.

Mr. Peter Nwofoke, one of the beneficiaries, while narrating his ordeal, described his release as divine intervention and appreciated the governor’s wife for the assistance.