Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
The Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has paid the debts, fines and compensations of 45 prison inmates, culminating in their immediate freedom.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Senator, Bashir Rabe Mani and issued to newsmen in Sokoto.
According to the statement, the annual gesture of Senator Wamakko was extended to the beneficiaries under the Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko Free Legal Services Foundation.
The Coordinator of the Foundation, Barrister Abdulhamid Zubairu, said that out of the 45 freed inmates, five were women, seven were juveniles, while the rest were from the Sokoto Central Prison.
He said that the gesture gulped millions of naira, adding that the minimum fine paid was N60,000, while the maximum was N230,000.
Zubairu further explained that, the gesture was aimed at enabling the beneficiaries to celebrate the Eid -el Fitr with their relatives.
In the same vein, the gesture was aimed at further decongesting the prisons, as well as bolstering the nation’s judiciary system.
Zubairu admonished the beneficiaries to steer clear of any acts capable of taking them back to the prisons.
Also addressing the freed inmates, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Sokoto State chapter, Barrister Lema Wali, advised them to be of good conduct, law-abiding and respectful to their various families.
Barrister Wali commended Senator Wamakko for sustaining the annual gesture, and appealed to other wealthy individuals to emulate him.
A cross section of the lucky inmates lauded Senator Wamakko for the invaluable gesture and vowed never to engage in any acts capable of returning them to the prisons.
Transport fares were also doled out to all the freed inmates to travel to various parts of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara states, and other parts of the country.