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A 40-year-old man, Uche Nnoli, on Thursday regained his freedom after awaiting trial for seven years at the Onitsha Correctional Centre, Anambra State.
Nnoli, who hails from Nteje in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, was sent to the Onitsha Correctional Centre over a community crisis.
While in detention Nnoli was transferred to Ogwashi Ukwu Correctional Centre in Delta State and later returned to Onitsha Correctional Centre, where he was finally released, on the intervention of a human rights group.
He regained his freedom when the human rights group, Human Rights Protection Service, with headquarters in Naples in the United States of America, intervened and offered him free legal services.
Speaking to journalists during Nnoli’s release on Thursday, the Chairman of the Anambra State chapter of Human Rights Protection Service, Prince Chinedu Ekwunife, said the case of Nnoli was brought to their attention when his wife and mother cried to them over the continuous detention of their husband and son without trial and they took over the matter
Ekwunife said, “We made a lot of impact and went to Onitsha Correctional Centre and it happened that he had been transferred to Ogwashi Ukwu Correctional Centre in Delta State which did not fall within the jurisdiction of the matter.
“With the help of our legal team, he was returned back to Onitsha Correctional Centre and the matter was charged to Otuocha High Court 2 and the Presiding Judge, Justice Okey Onunkwu, after examining the case, struck it out and released him.
“He has since rejoined his family and we, as a body commend the presiding Judge and the Nigerian judiciary for rekindling the hope of the common man. This shows that the rights of a common man remain protected under the law.
He, however, lamented the sorry state of the Correctional Centres in Anambra, stressing that the facilities need urgent attention in the area of improving the facilities.
“Anambra State Correctional Centres are nothing good to write home about because the facilities need to be maintained and the decaying ones renovated. The medical services and facilities there are almost non-existent.
“The organisation has concluded arrangements to establish skills acquisition centres at the correctional centres as well as improving on the facilities. We are commencing the establishment of skill acquisition centres and this is aimed at training the inmates so that they become gainfully employed and so that they do not go back to crime when they are released.
“We have been relying on our individual contributions as like minds as well as public-spirited individuals to help us achieve these programmes,” he added.
The officials of the correctional centre declined to speak to journalists on the development, saying they were not authorised to do so.
