A total of 16 inmates on death row and those to be amputated are still awaiting their fate more than 10 years after their conviction in Bauchi State, the Controller of Prison in the state, Mr Sulaiman Suleiman, has said.
The controller said in a statement on Friday in Bauchi that 10 of the inmates were sentenced for amputation and six to die by stoning.
In the statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Adam Abubakar and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Suleiman said the prison service had written to the state governor on the inmates’ plight.
He said that the 16 inmates were convicted by Sharia courts in the state for various offences.
The controller, however, commended the state Chief Judge, Justice Rabi Umar for her frequent visits to the prisons and recent indications that the convicts would soon know their fate.
Suleiman said the chief judge had revealed that a team of lawyers were studying the cases to fashion out appropriate legal avenues to bring an end to the prolonged incarceration.
“She said that the judiciary was aware of the increasing number of such cases in the prisons, with some of the inmates having spent over 13 years without having their sentences executed.
“The chief judge has also promised to review the cases of other inmates as part of the 3rd quarter jail delivery exercise before the year runs out.”