The Enugu Maximum Security Prison, built in 1915 for 638 inmates, now houses 1,800 inmates, the Comptroller, Alloy Uchenwa, has said.
Mr. Uchenwa stated this when Enugu State Chief Judge, Innocent Umezulike, visited the prison on a decongestion mission on Monday.
“Due to this problem, the underage inmates are kept with much older and hardened criminals,” Mr. Uchenwa added.
He said the chief judge’s mission would contribute to decongesting the three prisons in Enugu, Oji-River and Nsukka.
The controller called on government, Non Governmental Organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to re-activate the Institution for Juveniles at Hill-top, Ngwo.
Earlier, Mr. Umezuluike explained the annual exercise was aimed at ensuring that criminal cases were not over delayed and to release cases not qualified to be in court.
“Our mission is to ensure that those who have overstayed are released and we shall try our best to meet the demand,” he said.
He said similar exercise would be carried out in Nsukka and Oji-River prisons and urged lawyers to ensure that it was orderly, smooth and peaceful.
An inmate, Sunday Ezulue, who regained freedom, said he was convicted for killing his brother accidentally.
He expressed joy over his release after spending five years awaiting trial. (NAN)
