Yola, Adamawa State – In a landmark decision, the Adamawa State Chief Judge, Justice Hasfat Abdulrahaman, has released a 60-year-old woman, Saraya Silma, who spent 10 years in prison awaiting trial for a baseless witchcraft allegation. The Chief Judge, heading the committee on prerogative of mercy, reviewed the cases of 182 awaiting trial inmates, granting freedom to 24 and reducing sentences for 13 others.
Silma, a Cameroonian national, was falsely accused of witchcraft and had been languishing in the Yolde-pate Correctional Centre since 2014. The Chief Judge, moved by her plight, provided her with N12,000 for transportation back to Cameroon.
This development highlights the need for prison reform and swift justice in Nigeria. The Yolde-pate Correctional Centre, with a capacity for 800 inmates, currently houses 886, with 665 awaiting trial. The Chief Judge’s efforts aim to address this issue, but more needs to be done to prevent similar cases of wrongful imprisonment.
The beneficiaries of the exercise pledged to turn over a new leaf, thanking the Chief Judge and her team for their intervention. This story serves as a beacon of hope for those wrongfully accused and highlights the importance of judicial review and mercy.
We do everything possible to supply quality news and information to all our valuable readers day in, day out and we are committed to keep doing this.
Your kind donation will help our continuous research efforts.
-Advertisement-
-Want to get the news as it breaks?-
