Ado-Ekiti – Ekiti State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, has freed 22 awaiting-trial inmates during a routine visit to the Correctional Centre in Ado-Ekiti.
Ogunmoye said the exercise aligns with his constitutional mandate. He reviewed 543 cases – 535 male and 8 female – resulting in 18 inmates released unconditionally, 3 granted bail, and 1 discharged on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution for having no case to answer.
The Chief Judge thanked stakeholders in the justice system for their support and described prison visitation as a continuous exercise. He promised to return to the centre before the end of the year.
Welcoming the Chief Judge, Comptroller of the Ekiti Correctional Centre, CC Alaba Ajeleti, described the visit as “great succour” for inmates and another step toward decongesting the facility.
Ajeleti lamented that the centre, designed for 324 inmates, currently holds 937. She urged the Chief Judge and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to liaise with authorities to provide additional cells to aid classification. She noted that many states now operate more than one custodial facility.
She also commended the Ekiti Judiciary under Ogunmoye for adequately applying non-custodial sentences for minor offences. Those released, she said, were facing lesser charges.
Present at the visit were Ekiti State judges, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, magistrates, Legal Aid Council Director Mr. Adeyinka Opaleke, the Director of Public Prosecution, officers in charge of legal matters, and lawyers from both private and official bars.
