Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, says 30 percent of inmates in custodial centres across the country should be released.

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, October 9, Aregbesola said he will meet with state governors to decide on the mass release of the inmates, adding that 90 percent of them are being held for contravening various states’ laws.

According to him, over 70 percent of the 75,635 inmates across the country are awaiting trial. He said that the decongestion of the 253 custodial centres nationwide was necessary as some of the inmates have no reason to remain in custody.

“I have written the Nigerian Governors Forum to allow me to come and address them on how they can support the process of decongestion. Because the governors must buy into this system for us to do a massive decongestion especially of Awaiting Trial Inmates.

“If we get the buy in of state judicial authorities and the government of the states, we can pull out 30 per cent of those who are there,” he said.

According to him, “some of the awaiting trial inmates have stayed longer than the punishment provided by law for the crime they were arrested for.

“If you look at a man that is caught for petty theft and you are trying him for three years, even if you convict him for that crime, how long will he stay? How long will that fellow stay, probably six months, but without trial he will be there for three years.

“Again, you arrested a boy under the bridge, there is no fixed crime and he is there forever and so on and so forth. So, we need the buying in and support from state governments.

This is for them to critically know the situation and let them set up committees that will profile all those who are there. And help either to convict, release them or see if they have overstayed their required time,” the minister said.