Nigeria at 57: Obaseki approves release of 70 prisoners

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has approved the release of 70 inmates from various prisons across the state as part of activities to mark Nigeria’s 57th independence anniversary. 

Crusoe Osagie, the Special Adviser to Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, said this in a statement he made available to journalists in Benin on Sunday. He quoted the governor as saying that the 70 inmates to be released had been in prisons for a considerable time, some of them Obaseki noted had been in such condition for not less than two years without trial. 

Obaseki said that the order for the release of the inmates was a step toward improving the justice delivery system in the state and to reduce the number of awaiting-trial inmates by 50 per cent. According to him, the move is also part of the Federal Government’s policy aimed at  de-congesting prisons.

He, however, stated that the inmates would be ‘’sternly cautioned’’ to stay away from crime before they could be let go. According to the governor’s aide, Obaseki also attended church service at the Christ Embassy Zonal Headquarters, Benin to mark the independence anniversary. At the occasion, the governor urged Nigerians to be grateful for the opportunity to co-exist peacefully for 57 years. 

The governor said: “We are united as a nation and poised for greatness. “As a country, we are endowed, the problem is not Nigeria, we only need to change our attitude as a people and the nation will certainly grow and develop and our people will prosper.” 

He further advised Nigerians to be much more productive to enable them get ahead in the new dispensation, stressing that the era of easy oil money was over. 

Obaseki also called on the leaders in all spheres of society to go back to their communities and organise their people into various activities toward spurring the country to greatness. 

The Head of the church, Pastor Moses Olayemi, called on Nigerians to always have positive thoughts toward the country and themselves, no matter how challenging their circumstances might be.