Thirteen persons who have spent between five to six years awaiting trial at the Onitsha Prisons have been granted bail by the State Chief Judge, Justice Peter Umeadi in exercise of his constitutional powers of jail delivery.
Justice Umeadi who embarked on the first quarter of his 2019 jail delivery Court Session that lasted for more than seven hours inside St. Maximilian Kolbe Chaplaincy, Onitsha Prisons was accompanied by other twelve judges.
In a brief address, Justice Umeadi said the aim of the quarterly visit was to look at cases of persons who have spent long time behind bars, find out the reason and see what they can do outside the confines of the court to grant them bail.
He expressed joy over the number of cases granted bail which he ascribed to the synergy among the lawyers, magistrates, the Police, Directorate of Public Prosecution and Prison officials who were all present at the court session, adding that the development closed the gaps noticed in the past.
In a reaction, the State Comptroller of Prisons, Barrister Emmanuel Nwakeze, expressed gratitude to Justice Umeadi for the visit which according to him will go a long way in decongesting the prison.
Other cases treated were that of Juvenile and those who have attained the age of sixty and above where most of them were asked to approach the regular court for bail.
It is on record that the capacity of Onitsha Prison is about three hundred and twenty-six, but currently, it has more than one thousand persons awaiting trial.
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