Ezekiel Kagah, the controller, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Plateau State Command, says the correctional centre has more than 900 inmates awaiting trial.

Mr Kagah said this on Tuesday in Jos when Aliyu Abubakar, the director–general of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON), paid him a working visit.

The controller said the correctional centre had almost 2,000 inmates, out of which more than 1,000 had been convicted and 900 were awaiting trial.

The controller said that when he assumed office in December 2024, he discovered that some inmates had not been in court since 2017 because the centres where they were being held were far from the courts in which their cases were being handled.

He said the centre, therefore, worked in collaboration with the judiciary and moved such persons to centres close to the courts where their cases were being tried to enable them to access justice.

Mr Kagah commended Mr Abubakar over the council’s tireless efforts in ensuring that persons who needed their services received such assistance.

“The council’s commitment to promoting access to justice for Nigerians, especially the indigents, who cannot afford legal representation, is highly commendable,” he said.

The controller assured the DG that the NCS in Plateau would collaborate with the council as they were partners in progress.

Speaking earlier, Mr Abubakar said the purpose of his visit was to acquaint the controller with the council’s plan to inaugurate a Committee of Legal Service Providers in Plateau.

The committee will be inaugurated on Wednesday in Jos by the DG.

(NAN)