Oyo Chief Judge Frees Inmates With HIV, Ulcer

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, on Thursday, freed some inmates who had HIV, ulcer and pelvic dislocation at the Abolongo Custodian Centre in Oyo town.

The inmates were freed during a jail release exercise by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law Monitoring Committee led by the chief judge.

One Idris Abu, who had a pelvic dislocation, was also released.

The medical personnel in charge of the centre, Mrs Olanike Yusuf, had told the committee about the health challenges being faced by the freed inmates.

Yusuf said that Abu, who had a pelvic dislocation, could not do anything on his own without assistance, adding that the centre had tried its best.

She said that the inmate needed surgery which would cost about N400,000 and had been in custody since 2018 for armed robbery.

Yusuf also said that the inmate who had ulcer had been in the custody since 2016 while the other who had HIV had been in custody since 2019 for armed robbery.

Releasing the inmates, the chief judge said that the law must have a human face.

Abimbola said that the three inmates were released on compassionate and health grounds.

The chief judge said the inmates needed to be free for them to go and treat themselves.

“We are going to release any inmate that was arrested unconstitutionally or based on health and compassionate grounds,” he said.