Nasarawa Chief Judge pardons 20 inmates

The Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Justice Suleiman Dikko, has granted pardon to 20 inmates awaiting trial in Laifa, Keffi, Wamba and Nasarawa Prisons.
Diko pardoned the inmates on Thursday at the end of his four-day tour of prison formations across the state.
He told journalists in Nasarawa that two of the inmates were from Lafia, 17 from Keffi, while one is from Wamba prisons respectively.
He explained that the routine visit was part of his duties aimed at decongesting the prisons in the state and ensuring that inmates who were wrongly detained got justice.
He said: “Given the alarming rate of crime in the state, particularly in Mararaba-Abuja area, all hands must be on deck to ensure that justice prevailed.
“The police and the state Ministry of Justice need to get more counsels in order to effectively prosecute the rising number of cases in the state.”
He urged the police, prison authorities and other stakeholders to rise up to their responsibilities by ensuring speedy administration of justice in the state.
He advised the discharged inmates to exhibit good character and avoid committing crimes that would take them back to prison.
Earlier, Dalyop Patrick, the Controller of Prisons in the state, said the four prisons had 1, 402 inmates.
Patrick said 514 of them were convicts while 905 were awaiting trial.
He appealed for more vehicles to take inmates to courts among others.