Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has taken the initiative to grant amnesty to over 2,600 inmates as a critical step towards alleviating the congestion in prison facilities.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, during a press conference at the headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Abuja on April 9.
Eligibility for the pardon includes inmates who are aged 60 and above, those suffering from life-threatening illnesses, convicts serving sentences of three years or more with less than six months remaining, inmates with mental health issues, and those with an option of a fine not exceeding N50,000.
Aregbesola further stated that 70 inmates, comprising 41 Federal inmates and 29 FCT inmates, will be released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja as a symbolic gesture of the amnesty granted to the 2,600 inmates nationwide. Notably, the amnesty does not extend to inmates convicted of violent extreme offences such as terrorism, kidnapping, armed banditry, rape, human trafficking, and culpable homicide.
“The Governors of the 36 states, under whose jurisdiction the majority of the inmates were incarcerated, will carry out the pardon exercise in accordance with the federal principle,” he explained.