Posted by JOE EFFIONG, Uyo on
The gates of the Uyo Prisons were opened last Friday, August 4, 2006 to release a 75-year-old widow, Madam Atim James Udoh, who spent three months in jail with her three-year-old grandson.....
The gates of the Uyo Prisons were opened last Friday, August 4, 2006 to release a 75-year-old widow, Madam Atim James Udoh, who spent three months in jail with her three-year-old grandson.
Interestingly, it was not only the duo who walked free from the gaol, the son of the woman and the father of the toddler. Trio of grandma, father and son from Uyo Itam in Itu Local Government Area were sent to jail for "a minor family land dispute".
The Minister for Internal Affairs, Chief Olu Adeniji, had been devastated when he saw the octogenarian with the toddler when he visited the Uyo Prison two weeks ago. The Legal Aid Council director-general, Mrs Aisha Hassan Baba and her team was equally scandalised when the grandma and the grandchild were brought out for a possible legal assistance last Wednesday.
Adeniji had then taken the battle for Madam Udoh's freedom to Governor Attah because, as in his opinion, "part of the problems in prison was keeping inmates perpetually on awaiting trial list or conviction of people who, in my view, should be made to serve symbolic terms and then released. I don't know why someone should keep a woman who is 75 years old. If that is true or not, I don't know; but definitely, she is an old person. The offence for which she was charged has to do with some land dispute."
Mrs Hassan Baba equally spoke in a similar tone and explained that, that was why her team was going round to see what they could do to help the aged, those on awaiting trial list, the terminally ill inmates and the young prisoners.
But she could not do much to the grandma, nor her 50-year-old son, Ime James Udoh, the father of the child, when the family was called to appear before the team. Hassan Baba was told that the family, who were jailed without an option of fine, had only three days to remain prisoners. All she could do was to plead with the prison officials to take care of the child so that he would no longer sleep in prison in the remaining two days.
The child had to accompany the grandma to prison because she was the surrogate mother as the real mother had died, the prison authorities said.
The legal aid boss promised to support the family to start life again when released. With about N150,000 budgeted for the exercise in Uyo Prisons, she said the James Udoh's family could get up to N10,000.
Meanwhile, four people were lucky as their fines were paid by the legal aid group and they regained freedom. One of them was Ezekiel Monday Inwang, imprisoned for allegedly stealing a handset.
After he regained freedom, he said: "I want to learn how to ride motorcycle," in response to a question as to what he wants to do. He was however, advised to stick to his tile business which he said he was learning before imprisonment, instead of okada business.