Following the order of President Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has approved the release of 72 convicts from the Kaduna and Kafanchan Correctional Centres.
The move is part of the government’s efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19. POLITICS NIGERIA reported how President Buhari approved the release of 2,000 inmates last week.
Out of the 343 cases of the pandemic recorded in Nigeria, six came from Kaduna state.
The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Aisha Dikko, who announced the release of the inmates on Tuesday, said 69 of the convicts were released in Kaduna, while three were freed in Kafanchan.
According to a breakdown by the Commissioner of Justice, 42 inmates who were freed from the Kaduna Correctional Centre, were convicts who were given options of fine not exceeding N50,000.
The attorney general said that four inmates were serving three years and above with less than six months of their sentence to serve.
The commissioner also said that one of the inmates had spent 75 percent of his sentence after remission, while 22 others were convicted for minor offences.
‘’From the Kafanchan Custodial Centre, two inmates were freed with three months left on their sentence, while one inmate was released based on old age,” she said.
