Rivers CJ frees 14 inmates to mark new legal year

Warns freed inmates against being used for political thuggery

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The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, has released 14 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre, as part of activities marking the opening of the 2026/2027 Legal Year.

Justice Chibuzor-Amadi said the exercise was carried out pursuant to Section 1 of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) Act, aimed at decongesting correctional facilities.

He explained that those released were inmates who had overstayed the period prescribed by law if they had been convicted of the alleged offences, and others whose trials had stalled not due to their own fault, but that of government agencies or the judiciary.

The Chief Judge advised officials of the correctional centre to avoid premature disclosure of the list of inmates billed for release to other inmates in order to reduce tension and anxiety associated with such an exercise.

Addressing the freed inmates, Justice Chibuzor-Amadi charged them to return to society as ambassadors of peace and live exemplary lives.

He warned that any of them who returns to the facility for criminal activities may not be fortunate to benefit from such a gesture again.

The Chief Judge also reminded them that the political season had commenced and cautioned them against allowing themselves to be used by politicians to foment trouble, noting that many youths have fallen victim to political violence.

In his remarks, the Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Rivers State Command, Richard Moses-Williams, commended the Rivers State judiciary led by Justice Chibuzor-Amadi for the jail delivery exercise.

Moses-Williams said the importance of the decongestion exercise cannot be over-emphasised, particularly in addressing overcrowding in custodial centres.

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