Shooting At PH Correctional Centre Stalls Trials In Courts

The alleged shooting at Port Harcourt’s Correctional Centre on Monday has caused major setback in criminal trials due to the inability of the prison officers in the state to produce inmates to court the following day.
Some lawyers whose clients were in that category, told The Tide in Port Harcourt yesterday that the alleged shooting has further brought hardship to the intimates.
According to them, some of the intimates who ordinarily would have been granted bail, will now wait until the Prison officers sort things out before producing them to the Court.
The lawyers expressed regrets that such incident could happen at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, given the water tight security situation therein.
A lawyer, who pleaded anonymity, hinted that the shootout was not unconnected with an escape attempt by one of the intimates who was fatally wounded by the officers in the process.
According to him, the other inmates rose in protest against the ‘unfair treatment’ to their colleagues, which led to sporadic shooting in defence by the officers and men of the centre.
Relatives of some of the inmates, who were in court to perfect the bail conditions with the intention of going home with them, were disappointed due to their absence in court.
A sister to one of the inmates broke into tears and pleaded with the authorities to fast track the process and grants his brother bail.
She recalled how the brother had languished in the prison for about six months without proper trial.
When the Public Relations Officer of the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, Juliet Ofoni was contacted, she said that it was not a shootout, but ‘shooting in the air by officers to send inmates back to their cells’.
Ofoni also promised an update on the incident as at the time of filing this report.

By: King Onunwor