Ogun Chief Judge Orders Release of 67 Inmates in Prison Decongestion Drive

Abeokuta, Ogun State – In a significant move to alleviate overcrowding in correctional facilities, the Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, has ordered the immediate release of 67 inmates from three correctional centres across the state.

The jail delivery exercise, which saw Justice Dipeolu visit the Sagamu, New Abeokuta (Oba), and Ibara correctional centres, resulted in the release of 35 inmates from Sagamu on Wednesday, followed by 20 from New Abeokuta and 12 from Ibara on Thursday.

Justice Dipeolu, accompanied by judges and magistrates, emphasized that this periodic review of cases aligns with the state government’s commitment to decongesting its correctional centres. She highlighted that several factors led to the inmates’ release, including old age, critical health conditions, and instances where inmates had been detained for extended periods without their cases progressing in court.

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“It’s part of the duty of the Chief Judge to go on jail delivery exercises like once in a quarter and decongest the prisons,” Justice Dipeolu stated. She expressed concern over cases where individuals had been in custody since as far back as 2017, 2019, and 2020 without trial due to missing case files or absent witnesses, deeming it a waste of taxpayers’ money to continue their detention.

One inmate was released from the Oba facility specifically due to advanced age and a directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) indicating no case to answer.

Addressing the freed inmates, Justice Dipeolu urged them to reintegrate positively into society and warned against reverting to criminal behavior. “They should go back into the society and be good citizens, we have their records. We always tell them, ‘if you come back you would not be lucky the second time,’ so we implore them to be of good behavior. Let them go back into the society and find something tangible to do with their lives.”

The State Controller of Corrections, Abioye Adesina, expressed his satisfaction with the decongestion efforts and appealed to the state government for additional operational vehicles to improve the mobilization of inmates.

This recent release follows previous decongestion exercises led by Justice Dipeolu, demonstrating a consistent effort by the Ogun State judiciary to address the issue of prison overcrowding and ensure that justice is served efficiently. Justice Dipeolu, who was sworn in as the Chief Judge of Ogun State on October 22, 2018, has made prison decongestion a key aspect of her administration.