The Kuje Prison controller chief superintendent of prison, Mr A. A. Henen-Ubi has said that there are 366 inmates in the prison as against an eighty-bed yard.

Briefing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chief Judge and all the magistrates serving in the city, he said that 301 are awaiting trial, 194 are facing charges of armed robbery, 21 are being charged for culpable homicide while 65 have been convicted.

Consequently, the chief judge, Justice Lawal who was amazed at the number of awaiting trial in the prison released 27 of them.

The chief judge who was in the prison to assess the condition of the inmates and facilities in the prison said that the 27 inmates released had spent between five to eight years in prison custody without trial.

He maintained that section 1 (1) (b) of the criminal justice special provision, act 1977 and section 32 (1) of the 1999 constitution empowered the chief judge to release inmates whose detention is manifestly illegal.

Justice Gummi said that most of those released were awaiting trial on charges of belonging to gangs of thieves punishable under section 306 of the penal code but that the prosecution had not provided witness and audience to continue with the cases.

He announced that he would soon organise an all-embracing interaction between the magistrate and other stakeholders such as police prosecutors, Ministry of Justice and the Nigeria Bar Association to study and understand the problem areas preventing the faster trial of suspects.