The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, has ordered the release of 14 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre after reviewing cases involving prolonged detention and stalled criminal proceedings.
The releases were ordered during a jail-delivery exercise held as part of activities marking the opening of the Rivers State Judiciary’s 2026/2027 Legal Year.
Justice Chibuzor-Amadi said some of those released had already spent longer in custody than the maximum prison terms they could have received if eventually convicted.
Others remained incarcerated because investigations had failed to progress, including cases where security agencies allegedly did not forward case files to the Ministry of Justice for legal advice. In some instances, relevant police or Ministry of Justice files could no longer be traced.
The Chief Judge relied on the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act and the Rivers State Administration of Criminal Justice Law in carrying out the exercise.
His intervention raises an important question about Nigeria’s criminal justice system: what happens when a defendant’s incarceration continues not because a court has found the person guilty, but because the administrative machinery required to move the case forward has failed?
The problem is particularly serious where suspects remain in pretrial detention for periods approaching or exceeding the punishment prescribed for the alleged offence.
Justice Chibuzor-Amadi said detainees should not bear the consequences of institutional failures within the justice system.
The latest exercise follows the release of another 23 inmates from custodial facilities in Port Harcourt and Ahoada in July 2026.
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Source: TheNigeriaLawyer
