By Imelda Osayande

The Chief Judge of Edo, Justice Joe Acha, on Friday discharged and released a 30-year- old woman, Tina Trustee, from the Ubiaja Medium Custodial Centre.

Also discharged and released unconditionally were two robbery suspects, Ali Abudulai and Abubakar Mohammed.

Trustee, a native of Ebelle, was arrested because she could not pay the cost of 20 gallons of oil she collected from her customer.

She had spent a year and one month awaiting trial in the custodial centre without going to court.

Acha, while releasing her, directed that she comes up with an agreement on how she would defray the debt “bit by bit”.

Abudulai and Mohammed, who were also released, had been awaiting trial since 2017 without traces of their case files.

In view of that, the chief judge freed them and directed they turn a new leaf.

Acha, however, enjoined the freed suspects not to abuse the privilege.

“You should, rather see it as another God-given opportunity to turn a new leaf,” he said.

Earlier, the Deputy Controller in charge of Ubiaja custodial centre, Mr Julius Osemwegie, had told the Chief Judge that the centre was battling with logistics challenges.

Osemwegie said that the centre had only one servicable van that takes inmates to 22 courts in five local government areas “without security backup”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the chief judge had freed six inmates awaiting trial without trace of case files during his visitation to Oko medium custodial centre on Wednesday

(NAN)