The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, had ordered the return of the prisoners after thousands of hoodlums armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons had under the guise of #EndSARS protest attacked the two correctional facilities in Benin and freed all the inmates.
The source disclosed that as of October 30, 2020, Oko correctional centre had received 24 of the inmates who were escorted back by their parents, lawyers and relations.
“We are expecting that more will return. Those we have received so far are inmates who have few months of their jail terms while the hardened and condemned inmates have yet to return. Majority of those out there are awaiting trials,” he stated.
Earlier, a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy to the Governor, Crusoe Osagie, had read, “The extension of the ultimatum is as a result of the positive response from the prisoners.”
FCT Christian leaders condemn looting, demand stoppage of protest
Meanwhile, Christian leaders in the Federal Capital Territory have condemned the looting and violence that ensued in Abuja, in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.
A statement on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Anthony Ogunleye, said this was part of the resolutions reached at a stakeholders’ meeting held with leaders of the Christian community on Friday by the FCT Administration.
The statement titled: ‘FCT Christian leaders pledge commitment to peace,’ said the meeting, which was chaired by the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, had in attendance the Chairman of the FCT chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Samson Jonah; the State House Chaplain, Pastor Seyi Malomo; and heads of the various Christian denominations in the FCT.
The Christian leaders noted that the FCT had always been a home to all Nigerians, where residents could practise their faith without hindrance, adding that nothing should be allowed to overturn this.
They pledged to explore “the power of the pulpit” to encourage their congregants to maintain peaceful co-existence with followers of other faiths in the FCT.