The Niger State Government has secured the freedom of no fewer than 80 inmates after paying their N20 million fines.
The Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, represented by his Deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba, disclosed this.
Bago, who promised to protect all in the society, urged them to desist from what will make them return to the correctional center.
He disclosed this at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, (Old) Minna during the discharge of the inmates on Monday.
He appealed to the inmates to make use of their freedom by engaging in useful ventures and shunning any act that could lead them back to correctional facility.
Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, said Governor Bago approved the payment of N20 million fines for the discharge of the 80 inmates spread across various correctional centres in the state.
Usman explained that the payment of fine was in line with the Power of Prerogative of Mercy as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In his remarks, Controller of Corrections, Niger state, Commandant Abdulkadir Salman, while appreciating the Niger State Government for giving a second chance to the inmates, called on the society to avoid stigmatisation of the ex-inmates.
One of the discharged inmates, Danjuma Dan Kambari, on behalf of the inmates appreciated the Niger State Governor for his kind gesture and vowed to be better citizens.
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