The young boy had allegedly stolen her money while working for her. She vowed to get him jailed. And she did.
The boy, Gabriel Odiniya, alleges he was framed by a woman who he had worked for and who dragged him to court over alleged theft of money and secured conviction but Odiniya was given an option of fine by the court.
The woman according to Odiniya, had caused him to be arrested again boasting that she would make him to spend five years in jail as he was subsequently arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court, Okpo, Olamaboro Local Government.
But reprieve has come his way as Acting Chief Judge of Kogi, Justice Henry Olusiyi has unconditionally released a him from remand in the Ankpa Custodial centre. He was standing trial for alleged trespass, intimidation and attempt to commit theft.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief Judge released the juvenile inmate on Tuesday in Ankpa while on inspection visit to Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ankpa as part of his state-wide visits to custodial centres.
Olusiyi said there was no prima facie case against Odiniya aside the fact that he was a child who under extant laws, was certainly not supposed to be in the custodial centre in the first place.
“I have listened carefully to the learned legal officer prosecuting this case and on the whole, I am satisfied that this is an appropriate case for me to exercise my discretion in favour of the defendant by letting off the hook completely in this matter.
“I have also observed that he is suffering from skin rashes which if not controlled, may result in other inmates being infected.
“In the light of all the foregoing, the defendant is hereby released as no useful purpose will be served by his continued detention in this Custodial Centre.
“He shall be released forthwith to the acting Ochogwu of Ogugu, His royal Highness Emmanuel Salifu for proper handling etc”, he said.
The acting Chief Judge also implored the Reverend Father Boniface Opaluwa, incharge of the Catholic Church in Emagaba-Ogugu, to take charge and provide spiritual guidance to the fatherless boy.
Meanwhile, Justice Olusiyi was on tour of the six Custodial Centres (Correctional facilities) in the state with emphasis on cleanliness to check infestation of diseases.
Olusiyi who commenced the tour with a visit to Dekina and Ankpa Custodial Centres disclosed this while reviewing warrants of 35 Awaiting Trial Inmates incarcerated for various criminal offences.
The acting CJ said that there was need for the centres to be kept clean and neat to avoid communicable and other diseases adding even the clinics did not have drugs to take of minor diseases.
“In the clinic also they don’t have essential drugs for instance, the inmates in this centre, most of them are infected with infectious skin diseases and they don’t have drugs”, he said.
Olusiyi however commended the two correctional centres saying, “What we have seen is good in terms of cleanness. The environment is clean and the officers are doing well with the little that they have.”
On possible congestion of the facilities, the acting Chief Judge said Dekina Custodial Centre was underutilized because it has capacity for 105 inmates and they have 14 inmates including nine awaiting trials and five convicts.
“In Ankpa Custodial Centre, we have 26 inmates out of which one Gabriel Odiniya has been released unconditionally. The facility is underutilized but it is good. It is not all the time that we should expect correctional centres to be over full. It is good.
“That is a takeaway from this visit. That our correctional centres are not congested. Ankpa and Dekina are not congested. That means that our courts are working and our correctional officers are also working.
“We have already said it to our courts at all the stages that the essence of our mandate is the administration of justice and justice delayed sometimes can be Justice denied and at the same time Justice rushed sometimes can be Justice crushed.
“So we need to balance the two, make sure that whatever we do, we do not allow cases to linger in our courts and at the same time, do not over rush them so that we don’t miss out on the Justice of the matter.
“We wish to commend the Chief Superintendent of Corrections in Ankpa Custodial Centre, Umoru Onuh and Superintendent Omole Olumuyiwa of Dekina and their officers and men for a job well done”, he said.
NAN reports that the acting CJ had earlier visited the Eje Dekina, Alhaji Usman Obaje and commiserated with the Igala traditional council over the demise of the late Attah, Dr Idakwo Michael Ameh-Oboni and Onu Abocho, Alhaji Tijani Okwutachi who died Sunday morning.
▪︎ Source report by NAN