The heavy gates of the Warri Correctional Centre opened on Monday, August 24, 2026, and one after another, men who had spent months behind bars stepped into freedom.
There were no dramatic court victories. The courts had already handed down sentences with fine options, but the beneficiaries could not afford to pay.
One of them, Uruemu Pero from Udu, had spent about three months in custody after a fight landed him in trouble with the law.
A former bus driver who had lost his job, Pero had begun to wonder when someone would come to his aid.
Then, unexpectedly, help came from a man who was himself briefly behind the same walls.
That man was Reuben Izeze, the suspended Delta State Commissioner for Works (Highways and Urban Roads).
Izeze’s journey to the Warri Correctional Centre began with a confrontation at an All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting in Effurun, Delta State.
According to accounts of the incident, a disagreement occurred towards the end of the meeting and spilled outside the venue. The incident reportedly resulted in injuries, including that of a government aide identified as Temple and another participant.
Izeze was arrested and remanded in connection with the incident.
His arrest attracted attention in the state. But inside the correctional centre, he came face to face with people whose biggest concern was not power or elections.
It was freedom.
For several days, Izeze was no longer the commissioner moving around government offices. He was an inmate, sharing the same environment with people facing different circumstances.
It was gathered that during his interaction with some inmates, he discovered that a number of them had been sentenced with options of fines.
Although the courts had allowed them to regain their freedom with option of fines, poverty had turned the provision of fines into another prison wall.
Rather than simply leaving the centre after his own matter was resolved, Izeze became concerned and reportedly took their plight beyond the prison walls.
He approached FOOSTODEY, an organisation involved in humanitarian interventions, and drew its attention to inmates who could not afford their fines.
FOOSTODEY committed N9.77m towards the payment of fines for 20 inmates.
By Monday, 15 beneficiaries had been released. The remaining five could not complete the process because the courts were on vacation.
A Warri Correctional Centre officer, Superintendent Udeye Kelly, confirmed the development on behalf of the Deputy Controller.
Kelly said, “About 15 inmates had been released; the remaining five would be released once the court processes are completed.”
For the Correctional Service, the intervention also helped to decongest the custodial facility.
“By the grace of God, this is a form of decongestion in the custodial centre,” Kelly said.
Pero, the ex-driver, recounted that someone sustained an injury, leading to his detention and a court sentence with an option of a fine.
Now free, he said, “I hope to rebuild my life. This freedom is an opportunity to work again and reconnect with my family.
Another beneficiary, Peter Oghenevwede from Iyede, had spent about 11 months in custody.
Oghenevwede said he went to visit a friend, Vwegba, whose maternal uncle owned the motorcycle.
He said Vwegba later left with the motorcycle, promising to return before nightfall, but did not.
When people came looking for Vwegba and the motorcycle, they found Oghenevwede at the house and demanded that he account for the missing motorcycle.
He was arrested and taken from Iwhreni Police Station to Ughelli Police Station and then to court before being remanded at the Warri Correctional Centre.
Chigozie Ochiemadu, from Imo State, was another beneficiary.
He said he worked for a company and was transporting a customer’s goods to Port Harcourt when the customer’s waybill was lost.
When he reported the incident, he alleged that he was accused of stealing the goods.
He had been in custody since October last year and said he was facing a 10-year sentence.
The announcement of the release came as a shock.
Ochiemadu said his next plan was to return to electrical work.
Also, Usman Haruna, from Katsina State, had spent eight months in custody.
He said he came to Delta to hustle and trade but became entangled in a case involving copper wire.
He said he was told he needed about N450,000 for fine after had been sentenced to two years.
Then came the intervention.
He said, ‘I thought I would complete my five years. But thank God’
Sunday Orido had spent 11 months in custody after being sentenced to five years.
He said his case involved stealing a phone and that his option of fine was N270,000.
Then he and others were called and informed that their fines had been paid.
He said, “My advice to youths is to stay away from crime; criminal acts can send people to places they never expected to find themselves.”
While 15 families celebrated, five others are still waiting.
Special Assistant to Izeze on Community Relations and a member of FOOSTODEY, Tisha Matthew, explained that the organisation initially targeted 20 inmates and paid N9.77m towards their release.
However, the court vacation prevented the necessary documentation from being completed for five of them.
Matthew said the five would be released once the court processes were completed.
Kelly confirmed the explanation, saying the Correctional Service was hopeful of releasing them once the required signatures and processes were completed.
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