By; FUNMI ADERINTO, Kaduna
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has pardoned four prisoners in commemoration of Nigeria’s 62nd Independence Anniversary, based on the powers conferred on him by the constitution.
A statement from Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, listed the pardoned convicts as Abdullahi Haruna, Usman Ahmed, Mohammed Sani and Khalillullahi Mohammed.
The statement pointed out that the release of the prisoners is as a customary gesture of compassion exercised by Governor el-Rufai, based on Section 212 of the 1999 Constitution.
The governor acted on the recommendation of the state’s Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, the statement said, adding that ‘’the pardoned convicts were serving sentences of three years and above, and had six months or less to the end of their prison terms. ‘’
‘’Governor el-Rufai urged the pardoned prisoners to be of good conduct as they reunite with their families and are re-integrated into the larger society, ‘’ the statement added.
It would be recalled that the Kaduna Convict Prison, renamed Kaduna Correctional Centre is overstretched, with over a thousand inmates, with the capacity at completion, pegged at over 500.
Kaduna Prison was established in 1915, built by Federal Government in 1915.
It was stablished as an Old Convict Prison, with a carrying capacity of about 578 inmates, this was one of the prisons serving mostly the Northern regions.
