By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
Abuja, Nigeria – Ex-Edo Commissioner of Culture, Mr Ero has put plans in place to pay the fines imposed on certain inmates languishing in jail at the Oko Prisons in Benin City.
In a statement he put out to selected media outlets, including Alltimepost.com, Mr Ero said that he was putting funds together to pay the inmates fines imposed on them over trivial offences they committed.
Ero also said that most of the inmate have been languishing in jail over these small amounts imposed on them from petty crimes but have been unable to pay.
‘’This month of May 29th will make it one year since my release and vindication. To commemorate my first one year of freedom from the injustice meted out to me and to keep in view the plight and fate of many Nigerians still languishing in Maximum security prisons in Italy, I have decided to extend a hand of freedom to some people in Edo state who have been incarcerated for minor offences and given the option of ‘paying a fine’ but cannot afford the money.”
Ero said he has visited the Comptroller of Correctional Services in Edo State who said that it is “disheartening to know that people are incarcerated for not being able to pay fines as small as 50,000 Naira or given up to three years in prison.”
He said he would raise two million naira to help free a minimum of 20 Edo citizens incarcerated because they cannot afford to pay the fines imposed on them by the state.
“This is with a view to giving these persons the opportunity to be reunited with their families. So many children and families are suffering, going through the agony of being separated from their loved ones because of situations like this.
“This is sometimes due to injustice because of their status. Having passed through the ordeal I passed through in the hands of the Italian justice system, I am now better placed to understand this situation too well.
“All that these people have to do is promise us they will be good citizens of Edo State once they regain their freedom. We will also partner with the relevant government agencies and NGOs to ensure these persons are gainfuly employed and re-integrated back into the society’’, Ero said.
After he was released from jail in Italy on trumped up charges of belonging to a mafia group, Mr. Ero has taken the campaign against the unjust incarceration of Nigerians to Lagos, London and Europe. Through his #justice4innocentNigerians campaign, over 56 Nigerians have been freed from prison in Italy.
‘’But I cannot do this alone, and hence I am soliciting the support of all Nigerians,’’ Mr Ero said.
