Ganduje Frees 170 Prisoners

By Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday granted freedom to 170 prison inmates in the state.

Ganduje, who witnessed the release of the inmates from Goron Dutse Prison yesterday, said the gesture was in the spirit of Eid-El Kabir.

 “You are part of the people who need our attention at this time and all other times,” he said.

The governor said the gesture was to complement federal government’s efforts to further reduce congestion in the country’s prisons.

Ganduje said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed all governors to help  decongest prisons across the country.

“President Buhari has since directed all governors to help in decongesting our prisons across the country. What we are doing is in compliance with that order given to us,” he said.

The governor also noted that since the inception of his administration in 2015, about 2,000 inmates have been released.

He advised the ex-inmates to change their attitudes towards life and pray for peace and stability in Nigeria.

The governor also gave each of the freed inmates N5,000 as transport fare to their destination.

Earlier, the Controller of Prisons in Kano, State, Alhaji Abdullahi Magaji, thanked the governor for freeing about 2,000 inmates since his coming into office.

Magaji advised the freed inmates to stay away from crimes and avoid going back to prison.

Some of the freed inmates commended the state government for the gesture and promised to shun crimes.