Inmates sentenced to amputation of limbs or stoning to death under the Sharia legal system in Bauchi State will soon know their fates as team of lawyers are studying their cases with a view to fashioning out appropriate legal avenues that will bring to an end their prolonged incarceration.

This was made known on Thursday by the Bauchi State Chief Judge, Justice Rabi T. Umar, when the Controller of Prisons Bauchi State Command, CP Sulaiman T Sulaiman, paid her a courtesy call in her office.

The Bauchi State Chief Judge said she is aware of the increasing number of such cases in the prisons of the state, noting that some of them have already spent over 13 years without having their sentences executed. Justice Rabi T Umar said she will soon meet the State Governor on the matter. She expressed her satisfaction for the good working relationship between the Nigerian Prisons Service and the state judiciary. She disclosed that before the end of 2017, she will visit the prisons in the state as her third quarter jail delivery exercise.

Earlier in his remarks, the Controller of Prisons Bauchi State Command, CP Sulaiman, stated that the purpose for his visit was to introduce himself to the Chief Judge having assumed duty recently in the state. He disclosed that there are 10 inmates with cases of amputation and six others on death row by stoning languishing in the prisons for more than a decade. He noted that he has since written to the Bauchi State Governor calling his attention to the plight of the affected inmates hoping that their cases will soon be determined.

CP Sulaiman applauded the State Chief Judge for her frequent visits to prisons in the state through the administration of Criminal Justice Committee. He noted that the committee is helping the prisons towards inmates decongestion.

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