Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State on Tuesday granted amnesty to 159 inmates of the Abakaliki Custodial Centre.
Those freed are indigenes of Effium Community who were arrested over the intra-communal war that has decimated the community since 2021.
The freed inmates, who have been in detention at the facility for about four years, were granted the amnesty during the governor’s official visit to the Centre.
Hundreds of persons have been killed with thousands displaced due to the crisis which started as a disagreement over the leadership of a motor park in the community but quickly snowballed into intractable violence.
Controller of the Center, Bessie Offem, commended the governor for the amnesty which she said will help in the decongestion of the centre.
She noted that the decongestion of the Medium Security Custodial Centre Abakaliki has become an urgent security concern.
“The Custodial Centre which was built in the year 1949 to accommodate 387 inmates currently houses one thousand, three hundred and twenty-three (1,323) inmates which is extremely overstretching our Custodial Centre facility.”
She said this is posing serious security threat to the State which could lead to riots, jail-break or other forms of security concerns if not handled urgently.
Governor Nwifuru said the amnesty followed the recommendations of the seven-man committee headed by Bishop Nnachi Okoro.
According to him, the gesture is part of efforts aimed at bringing lasting peace to the troubled community.
He urged the freed inmates to embrace peace at all times and to join in the efforts to restore peace to the community.
