Review plan to pay N500m fine for release of inmates, Falana tells minister

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, should review the plan to pay N500 million in fines to ensure the release of 4,000 inmates from correctional facilities nationwide.  

Speaking in a recent interview, Tunji-Ojo said 4,000 inmates are in prison due to their inability to pay a “total of five hundred and something million” in fines.

He assured that the fines would be cleared and the inmates would be released in the next four weeks.

In a statement on Sunday, Falana said while the minister deserves commendation for the initiative, the plan should be reviewed.

He said the N500 million earmarked for payment of fines should instead, be spent on the welfare of inmates in the correctional centres while alternative decongestion policies are considered.

“Specifically, the Minister should request the President and the various state Governors to exercise their prerogative of mercy by granting pardon to the 4,000 convicts on grounds of impecuniosity to facilitate their immediate release from custody,” the statement reads.

“It is on record that the federal government had released 7,813 inmates from the Nigeria Correctional Centres across the country during the outbreak of COVID-19 to curb the spread of the virus among inmates. The convicts and awaiting trial inmates were granted amnesty and released on the orders of former President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the prison decongestion policy of the Federal Government.”

Falana added that the minister should petition the chief justice of Nigeria and the chief judges of all states to inspect correctional facilities and order the release of inmates whose detention is clearly unlawful or those who have surpassed the maximum period of imprisonment for their alleged offences, whether on remand or otherwise.

“However, it is pertinent to draw the attention of the Interior Minister to the plight of the scores of inmates who are languishing in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre as their case files were destroyed when the Magistrate Court and High Court buildings were burnt during the #endsars protests in October 2020,” the statement reads.

“As the nation marks the third year anniversary of the #endsars protests, we urge the Interior Minister to ensure the immediate release of such inmates since the State can no longer prosecute them as their cases have been burnt.”