‘197 Drug Convicts Not In Jail’ …Reps Order Probe Of NDLEA

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (left), with Chairman of Okrika Local Government Council, Barrister Tamuno Williams, at the Town Hall meeting held in Okrika, yesterday.

The House of Representatives has indicated that 197 persons convicted for drug related offences across the country may after all not be in jail.

To this end, the House has mandated its three committees on Justice, Interior, and Drug, Narcotics and Financial Crimes to investigate statistics of persons prosecuted and convicted by the NDLEA since its inception.

The committees are to also investigate the circumstances leading to the unlawful release from lawful custody those behind the act as contained in Justice Gilbert Obyan’s committee report.

This resolution emanated from a motion moved by Rep. Hassan Saleh (PDP-Benue) in Abuja yesterday which was adopted.

Saleh alleged that 197 persons convicted for drug trafficking were not serving their prison terms in the prisons.

According to him, the allegation was substantiated in the report of a committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which is headed by Justice Gilbert Obayan (rtd.) in 2006.

He said the report showed that out of 143 drug convicts for the year 2006, 96 of them were never brought to the prison.

“While another set of 101 drug convicts for the year 2005 were also not taken to the prison, Saleh said.

He said that over the years, the NDLEA had prosecuted some suspected drug traffickers in court and they were convicted to serve various terms.

The legislator said that high profile detainees and convicts were often allowed to be taken to hospitals outside the prisons and to the comfort of their homes.

He blamed the Federal Ministry of Justice for its refusal to implement the findings of the Obayan’s committee report on this serious infraction on the country’s criminal justice system.

Rep. Dakuku Peterside (PDP-Rivers) said the development was an invitation to chaos and disorderliness.

He said that the development was also the continued abuse of Nigeria’s judicial system.