Enugu governor pardons or commutes sentences of 13 inmates
Enugu Governor Peter Mbah has approved pardons, releases and sentence commutations for 13 inmates in the state as part of Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary. The decision followed recommendations from the state’s Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy and cited ill health or proven reform.
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has approved the pardon, release or commutation of sentences for 13 inmates in the state’s correctional centres. The decision was announced on Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary and was made under the governor’s constitutional power of prerogative of mercy. According to a statement by the governor’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu, the approval was conveyed to the Nigerian Correctional Service by Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Osinachi Nnajieze.
The beneficiaries are Kenneth Ozioko, Moses Saliyat, Promise Ndudim Olung, Chijioke Ugwu, Samuel Ani, Eugene Odo, Celsus Emeachi, Caleb Jatto, Calistus Eze, Gabriel Onu, Timothy Ani, Ernest Okeke and Ejike Nwodo. The statement said some inmates were pardoned and released, while some death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. It did not specify the individual sentence applied to each beneficiary.
The decision followed recommendations from the state’s Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy. The council is chaired by the state attorney general and includes representatives of the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation and the Catholic Institute for Development, Justice and Peace, among others. The governor’s office said the recommendations were based on reports of ill health or proven reform in character.
The supplied material did not provide further details about the offences, length of imprisonment or medical conditions of the inmates. Section 212 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution allows a state governor to grant a pardon, provide a respite from punishment, substitute a less severe punishment or remit all or part of a sentence for offences created under state law. The constitutional provision requires the governor to consult an advisory council on the prerogative of mercy.
Mbah’s action was described as having been taken after that consultation.
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