The Chief Judge of Sokoto State, Justice Bello Abbas, has granted pardon to 28 awaiting trial inmates in the Sokoto Central Prisons.
The chief judge pardoned the inmates on Wednesday in Sokoto when he paid a scheduled visit to the prisons.
Abbas and all the judges in the state visited the central prisons to conduct the exercise.
The chief judge said that the gesture was aimed at decongesting prisons and ensuring that suspects did not stay much longer than necessary while awaiting trial.
“Our aim is to see to the welfare of the inmates and ensure that no one will stay longer than necessary, while awaiting trial before the various courts in the state.
“As such, the assignment we are embarking on is to ensure speedy clearance of all awaiting trials, while those who had over stayed were discharged.
“This is in order to maintain the law as well as decongesting the prisons at the appropriate time of such needs,” he said.
The chief judge also promised that all the remaining awaiting trial inmates would soon be tried, after liaising with all the courts and other related agencies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there are 398 awaiting trial inmates in the prisons standing trials before various courts across the state.
The inmates were standing trials on various charges which include rape, sodomy, armed robbery, cattle rustling and homicide among others. (NAN)