Abia CJ Frees Eight Prisoners … As Faulty Machines Mar Voters’ Registration

Eight inmates of the
Federal Prison in Umuahia have regained their freedom while six were granted bail by the Chief Judge of Abia, Justice Nnenna Otti.
Otti, who granted the reliefs during a jail delivery, recently, said that the exercise was part of efforts by the judiciary to bring justice to all manner of men.
“Out of the 780 inmates, 745 are being held in custody without trial and most of these people have served out their term while in prison custody,” she said.
Otti called for accelerated hearing and quick dispensation of justice in the case of those whose matters were already before a court of law.
The Comptroller of Prisons in Abia, Mrs Ukwuori Kalu, said she was delighted that the exercise was a success.
“Most of the inmates here are innocent and I am hopeful that with an exercise like this, they will regain their freedom,’’ she said.
The freed inmates who were between the ages of 25 and 75 had spent between two year and five years in custody without trial.
The inmates were being held for offences ranging from murder, armed robbery to lesser ones such as stealing, malicious damage, and conspiracy, among others.
Meanwhile the voter registration being conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was disrupted in some centers in Umuahia due to malfunctioning data capture machines.
At the Nkata Primary School, Bende Road, Umuahia, scores of residents who came for registration could not do so due to failure of the machines.
The INEC official in charge of the centre told newsmen on the condition of anonymity that the exercise could not continue because the machine was not functional.
The situation was the same at the Ibeku High School, Umuahia, where those who came around 8 a.m. dispersed around 3.15 p.m. following the report of low computer battery by the registration officials.
At the Itaja-Obohia Civic Hall, Olokoro, and Umutowe Central School, Olokoro, near Umuahia, the residents said they arrived at the centres around 7 a.m, and left around 2.30 p.m. after waiting in vain for the arrival of the officials.
Mr Chekube Nwamara and Mrs Ngozika Ogbonna, who were at the two centres respectively, expressed disappointment with the development and called on INEC to rectify the anomalies to enable the machines to capture eligible voters.
A cross-section of other residents, including civil servants, traders and artisans, who spoke on the development, charged INEC to redouble its efforts to ensure a smooth exercise in the state.
Mr Onyebuchi Okoronkwo and Mrs Comfort Okugoji described the process as slow and frustrating, adding that unless INEC upgraded the machines, many eligible voters would not be captured.
A lecturer at the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Dr Chimezie Ogbuehi, said the development was capable of discouraging the residents from coming out to be registered.