Six Nigerian inmates who were pardoned in Thailand but still held in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos, have finally been set free.
According to report, eight inmates repatriated from Thailand to complete their prison terms at home were being held in the facility, over a year beyond their release dates.
The inmates were listed as: Wasiu Amusan, Napoleon Mba, Obi Titus, Gloria Ogbonna, Henry Azukaeme, Okpala Chukwubike, Kennedy Tanya and Yakubu Yauza.
According to documents, it showed that not less than six of them, who were imprisoned for drug-related offences, were granted royal pardon and their sentences commuted by the Thai monarch, Maha Vajiralongkorn, to one-sixth of their original sentence.
However, but for the controversial prisoner transfer treaty between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Thailand and the royal pardon by the Thai King, these individuals should have been released by 2019.
As stated in the treaty, though inmates are transferred to their home country to serve out their sentence, they are still under the exclusive jurisdiction of the transferring country.
While the Correctional Service (NCS) authorities claimed they were not due to be released, human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, has continually prevailed upon the Nigerian government in letters, demanding their freedom.
On Sunday evening, Femi Falana (SAN)
announced that they have been freed in a statement that was made public. The six inmates were freed on December 26, Boxing Day.
Recalling the efforts taken to secure their release, Mr Falana stated that on July 2, 2020, his law firm requested the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama, to direct the Nigerian embassy in Thailand to furnish them with the warrant for the release of the convicts.
The Minister did and the Embassy procured and sent 6 warrants to Nigeria which were forwarded to them.
He went further to say that on August 25, they wrote to the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola urging him to direct the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre to release the convicts from custody. As the request was subjected to bureaucratic hiccup , they were compelled to file 6 applications at the federal high court for the immediate and unconstitutional release of the convicts. Even though the case has been adjourned to January 25, 2021 for definite hearing, the Minister of Interior granted the request last week for the release of the convicts.
Falana said that they are prsuing the case of the remaining two convicts.
He further noted that the two cases call for a comprehensive audit of all inmates in the nation’s correctional centres.
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