Chief Judge grants bail to 6 persons awaiting trial

The Chief Judge of Abia, Justice

Uzokwe granted bail to the six while conducting a` jail delivery’ on Tuesday, added that the exercise was not aimed at releasing criminals but to reduce the cases of unlawful detention.

She urged the prison authority to prepare a comprehensive list of those accused of heinous crimes who have not been taken to the high court before the end of January 2017.

According to her, this will facilitate speedy trials and dispensation of justice to reduce the number of those awaiting trial.

She also urged the prison authority to send the list to relevant agencies to enable such agencies to file suits against the suspects to avert unlawful detention and address the issue of expired warrants.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the six accused persons, made up of two females and four males, allegedly committed crimes such as theft, murder, conspiracy and armed robbery.

NAN also reports that the prison, which can accommodate 500 inmates has a total of 1,005 inmates,while 916 males and 45 females are awaiting trial.