He said the inmates had spent over two years at the facility awaiting trial for minor offences or because they were unable to pay fines.

Eighteen inmates have reportedly been released from the Keffi Correctional Centre in Nasarawa State following the intervention of a federal lawmaker.

Ahmed Wadada, the senator representing Nasarawa West District, said he facilitated their release through his lawyers.

He said the inmates had spent over two years at the facility awaiting trial for minor offences or because they were unable to pay fines.

A senior legislative aide to the senator, Theophilus Ego, made this known in a statement on Monday in Nasarawa State.

"As part of his commitment to serving humanity, My Principal and the Peoples Senator, Sen. Ahmed Wadada Aliyu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi), facilitated the release of 18 (eighteen) number inmates from the Keffi correctional centre with minor fines and near abandoned cases in some circumstances.

"This was because the inmates had no serious complainant or case against them, but they were still kept in prison and thereby abandoned along the line.

"Those victims were kept In custody for about two years without trials. It is indeed pathetic that many were innocent yet in chains," the statement said.

Prison Congestion

According to a report by the Nigerian Correctional Service, the agency's facilities are overcrowded, holding approximately 37 per cent more inmates than their designed capacities, with a significant portion awaiting trial.

The data shows about 68 per cent of the prison population is awaiting trial, while only 32 per cent are convicts.