One Salisu Muhammad, an inmate at the Kano Central Prison, has claimed that he was ‘wrongly’ sentenced to death for stealing a duck and car radio.
The convict, who hails from Jigawa State, told the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, that his ‘incarceration was politically motivated.’
According to him, “We have so far spent 14 years in jail. Since we were sent to prison nobody cares to review our case despite the fact that it was purely political.
“Aminu Yakubu and I stole a duck and car radio but unfortunately we were sent to prison as condemned criminals because we refused to register our allegiance to the then House of Representatives member representing our constituency.
“Everybody was entitled to choose the party and candidate he wishes to support but here we are dying in prison because we refused to support somebody.
“This is purely injustice and we want you to look into our case with all sense of humility,” Muhammad pleaded.
The inmate called on the minister to come to their aid by revisiting the case with a view to unveiling the truth of the matter.
He also requested both federal and state governments to review cases of some inmates in the prison, saying there were many prisoners in the formation who were jailed unjustly, Daily Trust reports.
The prison service officer in-charge of Kano central prison, Alhaji Umar Auwalu Diso, while corroborating Muhammad’s statement, told the minister that “Salisu Muhammad’s case is one out of many similar cases at the prison.
Diso said that if governors can used their executive powers to offer amnesty to such prisoners or commute their sentences, many prisons across the country will be decongested.
“We have written series of complaints to various governors about such cases but nothing was done to address the situation.
“We have condemned inmates that have spent 10 to 19 years on the roll. We also have aged condemned criminals. And most of them were transferred to Kano prison from Kaduna, Edo and Jigawa states.
“The capacity of the two cells meant for condemned criminals was 40 inmates but currently they are accommodating 92 inmates. The inmates don’t have space for prayers in the cells,” Diso noted, lamenting further that the capacity of the condemned criminals section of Kano Central prison was overstretched.
In his response, the minister assured the inmate that he will look into his own case and make sure that justice is done.
Dambazau said the federal government was worried over the terrible condition of Nigerian prisons and that it was determined to address all challenges facing prison formations across the country.
He consequently directed the Northwest zonal coordinator of prisons, Alhaji O. Y Musa to compile and forward such cases to his office within one week.
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