The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Suleiman Dikko

  • Nasarawa CJ frees 14 inmates

    Chief Judge of Nasarawa State Justice Suleiman Dikko has freed 14 inmates of Lafia Prisons in his quarterly visit to prison formations in the state.

    He said the move was to decongest Prisons and strengthen the justice system in the state.

    Justice Dikko said the inmates were those awaiting trial in mostly civil cases and cautioned prosecutors to be careful not to convert civil cases to criminal cases.

    Comptroller of prisons, Nasarawa state command, Mr. Patrick Dalyop, expressed delight with the CJ’s commitment in visiting prison formations in the state and putting smiles on the faces of the inmates and relieving pressure on the facilities.

    Inmates freed were in the prison for offences ranging from theft, breach of trust, cheating, conspiracy and belonging to criminal gangs.

    Read Also: Sensitive election materials arrive Nasarawa

    Those freed were: Likita Emmanuel, Buba Doga, Ali Ibrahim, Henry, Abubarkar Ali Small, Musa Yahuza, Umar Ibrahim, Abubarkar Danjuma, Nasiru Usman, Danladi Shabu, Ali Jubrin, Muhammed Abdulahi, Ibrahim Polo while Peter John was granted bail on self- recognition.

    The inmates in Lafia Prisons has a total of 538 inmates, 149 convicted, 4 condemned , while 210 are standing trial for robbery cases.

    The last visit by Justice Suleiman Dikko was in January 2019 where he visited Lafia and Wamba Prisons.

  • Nasarawa Chief Judge pardons 20 prison inmates

    Nasarawa Chief Judge pardons 20 prison inmates

    The Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Justice Suleiman Dikko, has granted pardon to 20 inmates awaiting trial in Laifa, Keffi, Wamba and Nasarawa Prisons.

    Dikko pardoned the inmates on Thursday at the end of his four-day tour of prison formations across the state.

    He told journalists in Nasarawa that two of the inmates were from Lafia, 17 from Keffi, while one is from Wamba prisons respectively.

    He explained that the routine visit was part of his duties aimed at decongesting the prisons in the state and ensuring that inmates who were wrongly detained got justice.

    “Given the alarming rate of crime in the state, particularly in Mararaba-Abuja area, all hands must be on deck to ensure that justice prevailed.

    “The police and the state Ministry of Justice need to get more counsels in order to effectively prosecute the rising number of cases in the state,” he said.

    Read Also: Former Nasarawa Governor Akwe-Doma dies

    He urged the police, prison authorities and other stakeholders to rise up to their responsibilities by ensuring speedy administration of justice in the state.

    He advised the discharged inmates to exhibit good character and avoid committing crimes that would take them back to prison.

    Earlier, Dalyop Patrick, the Controller of Prisons in the state, said the four prisons had 1, 402 inmates.

    Patrick said 514 of them were convicts while 905 were awaiting trial.

    He appealed for more vehicles to take inmates to courts among others.

    NAN

  • Impeachment: Don’t disband panel, Al-Makura urges CJ

    Impeachment: Don’t disband panel, Al-Makura urges CJ

     •Panel resumes sitting Monday

    Governor Tanko Al-Makura  of Nasarawa State wants  the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Dikko, to ignore  the request of  members of the House of Assembly to disband the panel set up to investigate him.

    The pro-impeachment lawmakers had, last week through their counsel, Mr. Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SANý), written to the Chief Judge to disband the panel on the ground that it was likely to be biased.

    But Al-Makura, responding  through his lawyer, Chief Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), said that the position of the lawmakers   was untenable and should be disregarded by the Chief Judge.

    Udechukwu queried the powers of the CJ to disband a panel he constituted and inaugurated.

    His words:”Your Lordship is functus officio and lacks the authority under the constitution to disband a panel which you have set up under Section 188(5) of the Constitution.

    “All ministers in the temple of justice should well advise themselves to abide by the letters and spirit of the 1999 constitution.

    “The point we are making is that whoever is seriously aggrieved by any step taken by your Lordship under Section 188(5) of the constitution should follow constitutional stipulations in pursuit of that grievances and not to politicise a serious constitutional matter without minding the damage such negative action would do to the constitution and to organs of government which draw their legitimacy therefore.”

    The panel, which is headed by Yusuf Shehu Usman, will resume sitting tomorrow in Lafia, the state capital.

    It will consider allegations of gross misconduct and misappropriation of funds levied against Al-Makura by the House of Assembly.

    Al-Makura has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the lawmakers were motivated by politics in pushing for his removal.

    The panel has three months to investigate the allegations, and submit its report in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

    The governor was served an impeachment notice bordering on 16-count charges and signed by 20 of the 24 members of the House about two weeks ago.

    Other members of the panel are: Mohammed Sabo Keana; a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Reverend Joel Galadima, Alhaji Abdul Usman, Samuel Chaku, Mohammed Sani Usman and Pastor Daniel Chaga.

  • Nasarawa CJ pardons 28 inmates

    The Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Justice Suleiman Dikko has granted pardon to 28 inmates awaiting trial in four prisons in the state.

    The chief judge announced the pardon at the weekend during a visit to the Nasarawa Prison as part of his tour to decongest prisons in the state.

    The four federal prisons in the state are located in Lafia, Keffi, Nasarawa and Wamba.

    Dikko, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) named the pardoned inmates as Samaila Agidi, Jineidu Fahomu and Kenneth Yohana from Lafia Prison and Jummai Mohammed and Felix Amadu from Wamba Prison.

    Also released were Joshua Daruwana from Nasarawa Prison and Abdullahi Usman, Hassan Adamu, Bashiru Yakubu, Hassan Hassan, Anayo Chuku, Ali Abdulkarim and Vincent Amos from Keffi Prisons.

    Others are: Hakilu Musa, Abdullahi Musa, Samuel Makama, Mohammed Musa, Luckman Usman, Masuwudu Abdullahi, Danjuma Audu, Ishaya Asentu, Vitalis Enji, Abdullahi Hassan, Abdullahi Maikarfi from Keffi Prisons, as well as Chika Aleke, Ismaila Musa, Shemsudeen Mohammed and Adamu Abdullahi.

    “My decision to discharge the inmates is in line with my determination to ensure justice to those who were wrongly imprisoned and to decongest prisons in the state”, he said.

    Dikko, therefore, advised beneficiaries of the gesture not to return to crime and urged them to exhibit character that acceptable in the society.