Imo State Government yesterday sacked and retired over 1,215 civil servants as part of its efforts to rejig the state workforce. The sack emerged on a day the Ogun State Chief Judge, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade, granted pardon to 89 inmates as part of efforts to decongest prisons in the state.
The state’s Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Calistus Ekenze, who reportedly directed the Local Government Service Commission to carry out the order. It was gathered that those who were mostly affected were largely from the local government service, a development which the HoS stated was carried out with the approval of the state’s Governor, Rochas Okorocha. Speaking with journalist in Owerri, Ekenze said there was nothing new about the exercise, stressing that those retired had either served up to 35 years, attained the compulsory retirement age of 60 years, or those with dented record of service requiring sack The HoS explained that there are various reasons for every government action, adding that those involved were either genuinely retired, or had heinous record.
Read Also:
Meanwhile, Olopade, who pardoned the inmates during her three-day tour of prison formations at Ibara and Oba in Abeokuta, as well as those in Ilaro, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode, said the exercise was not aimed at releasing criminals but to reduce cases of unlawful detention and awaiting trial inmates.
The tour, which was to round off first quarter of 2017/2018 Legal Year, witnessed a total of 14 inmates were released from Oba Prison, 28 in Ibara, 16 in Ilaro, seven in Sagamu, while 24 inmates were set free from Ijebu-Ode prison. She said there were many inmates on detention and in custody without trial over a long period of time, as well as those who had serious health issues, among others, noting that such cases were reviewed and those who ought not to be in prison were considered for pardon. Olopade commended stakeholders in the Administration of Justice for efforts in ensuring justice was not denied or delayed.
The chief judge added that constraints identified during the three-day tour would be looked into, with a view to resolving the problems before the next visit. She said: “There is need for us to regularly visit prisons to treat deserving cases and to decongest the facilities of Awaiting Trial Inmates, those who have not been tried over a period of time, and those with serious health issues, among others.”
