Justice Josiah Majebi, Chief Judge of Kogi State, has ordered the release of 10 awaiting-trial inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Koton-Karfe. The move is part of a two-day prison visit that began on Monday to review the cases of inmates held for prolonged periods without trial. Five other inmates were transferred to different correctional centres within the state to enable faster prosecution.
At the facility, Justice Majebi emphasized the judiciary's responsibility in preventing delays in the justice system and safeguarding detainees' rights. He directed magistrates to limit adjournments in criminal cases to no more than twice, citing unnecessary postponements as a major cause of congestion.
The chief judge also suspended a registrar attached to Chief Magistrate Court I in Lokoja following the disappearance of a case file belonging to Abdulrazak Adama, who is facing charges of conspiracy and theft. The registrar will remain on suspension until the file is recovered.
The Medium Security Custodial Centre, designed to hold 320 inmates, had 54 convicted inmates, 62 awaiting-trial inmates, six death row inmates, and one life sentence inmate at the time of the visit. The exercise is part of broader justice sector reforms aimed at improving accountability and upholding fundamental rights in Kogi State.
The chief judge suspended a registrar over a missing case file while releasing inmates who had waited years without trial, yet the same system allows magistrates to adjourn cases twice by order, not reform. Justice Majebi cited excessive adjournments as a cause of congestion but gave no timeline for recovering Abdulrazak Adama's file. The 62 awaiting-trial inmates at Koton-Karfe include those who may face the same delays the judiciary now claims to oppose.
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