The Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, on Wednesday, secured the freedom of 64 inmates after releasing N6 million for the payments of various fines, compensation and debts levied against them by the courts.
The beneficiaries who included one woman, were hitherto serving various jail terms in Sokoto Central Prison, Wurno, Tambuwal, Gwadabawa and Bissalam Satellite prisons.
Similarly, each of the inmates was given N 10,000 transport fare back to their respective towns and villages, to cushion their immediate needs.
The gesture according to the Special Adviser to the Senator, Bashir Rabe Mani in a statement was extended to the lucky inmates under the Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko Free Legal Services Foundation.
Addressing the freed inmates, Senator Wamakko, who spoke through the Secretary of the Foundation, Barrister Abdulhameed Zubairu said that, the gesture was in the bid to ameliorate the suffering of the people in the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The Senator who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education added that, the gesture was aimed at fast tracking measures to further decongest prisons, as well as facilitate the smooth administration of justice.
He quoted Senator Wamakko as admonishing the freed inmates to be of good behaviours, as well as see their incarceration as an act ordained by the Almighty Allah.
The lawmaker further explained that, the gesture was extended to prison inmates in the state both during the Eid-el- Fitr and Eid-el- Kabir.
Also speaking, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA), Barrister Lema Sambo Wali, represented by its Secretary, Barrister Kabiru Muhammad, lauded Senator Wamakko for the invaluable gesture.
A Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Barrister Shafi’u Shehu Auta, described Senator Wamakko’s gesture as unparalleled.
Also speaking, the Chief Wali of the State Shari’a Court of Appeal, Alhaji Buhari Yahayya appealed to the beneficiaries to shun crimes, to avoid going back to the prison.
A renowned private Legal Practitioner, Mr Solomon Alimosonya averred that, the gesture would really help in decongesting prisons.
He urged them to pursue both Islamic and western education, even as he described Senator Wamakko as, ”a man who has a big heart for the less privileged people in his heart .”
