Rivers CJ Frees 21 Inmates, Including Man Held 18 Years Without Trial

Justice took a long time coming, but it finally arrived on Thursday as the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, kick-started the state’s jail delivery exercise with the release of 21 inmates from the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre — including a man who had spent 18 years behind bars without trial.

The case of Gospel Nwibari stood out. Arrested in 2007 at the age of 14, Nwibari remained in custody for nearly two decades without legal representation or a single court hearing.

The exercise, grounded in the Rivers State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, aims to decongest prisons and address long-standing delays in the justice system.

Justice Amadi expressed concern that many inmates had no files or identifiable charges. “Many of these inmates had no case files and no means to trace the charges against them. Continuing to detain them serves no justice purpose,” the Chief Judge said.

Though some of the inmates were accused of serious crimes like murder and armed robbery, Amadi stressed that every case must be treated within the boundaries of due process. He said the releases followed recommendations from correctional authorities and were subject to verification by the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP).

He also offered words of advice to the freed individuals, encouraging them to embrace a fresh start but warning that the road to reintegration may be difficult. “Society may not always be forgiving. But the law must remain just and humane,” he added.

Rivers State Controller of Corrections, Felix Madumere, raised concerns about severe overcrowding at the facility, which was built for 1,800 inmates but now holds over 2,500. “If the state fails to act, we may be forced to halt inmate admissions temporarily to prevent a system breakdown,” Madumere warned.

The emotional peak of the day came as Gospel Nwibari reunited with his family. His brother, Paul Kinani, revealed the family had presumed him dead. “I thought he was gone forever. We looked for him everywhere. Getting that call from Haven360 Foundation felt like a miracle,” he said, visibly emotional. Kinani confirmed that Gospel would undergo immediate medical evaluation due to signs of mental health distress.

Barrister Cyrus Onu, President of Haven360 Foundation — the legal advocacy group that discovered Nwibari’s case in 2020 — called the release a powerful moment in the fight for justice. “He was arrested as a teenager and left to rot in the system. We also secured the release of a mentally ill woman from Etche who had been detained since 2022. These are the people justice forgot,” Onu said.

He pledged the group’s continued commitment to rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-inmates, especially those suffering from psychological trauma or social displacement.

Justice Amadi affirmed that the jail delivery programme would continue across other correctional centres in the state. “This is just the beginning. The exercise will continue in other correctional facilities across the state,” he declared.

The event was attended by officials from the Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Correctional Service, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), legal aid agencies, and human rights organisations — all united in their mission to restore justice and dignity to the forgotten.