Justice Abiodun Ayodele Adebara, the Chief Judge of Kwara State, granted pardon to three inmates of the custodial centre in Ilorin, the state capital, on Tuesday, September 17.
They were set free during his visit to both the Old Ilorin and New custodial centres, Okekura, and Mandala, respectively, according to a statement by the spokesman of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Kwara State Command, Adegbulugbe Philip Olumide in Ilorin.
Justice Adebara was accompanied by Hon. Justice Ibijoke Olawoyin, the State High Court Registrar, Mrs Kudirat Yahaya and other stakeholders in the criminal justice department.
In his speech, the Chief Judge admitted that the facilities in the state were overcrowded and it fell within his constitutional rights to perform jail delivery which allows him to look into cases that have stayed long in court, inmates with terminal illnesses and minor offences which community service can take care of.
He reviewed a number of cases and released the three inmates, with a promise to make visits to custodial centres for jail delivery a continuous exercise.
The Chief Judge admonished the released inmates to stay-off crime and immensely thanked the authority of the correctional service for their support in providing an enabling environment during and after the exercise.
The State Controller of Corrections, Danmairomu Shuaib Ayodeji, on behalf of the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, applauded the Chief Judge, members of his entourage and urged the released inmates to be of good conduct not to go back to crime.
