No fewer than 46 awaiting-trial inmates at the Medium Security Correctional Centre, along Liverpool Road in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, are unable to attend court hearings due to a lack of operational vehicles to convey them to court.
The Officer-in-Charge of the facility, Chief Superintendent of Corrections, Samuel Bassey, disclosed this when members of the Eket Federal Constituency Media Professionals Forum paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Bassey said some of the inmates were brought to the facility from Nsit Ubium Local Government Area as far back as 2023 but had never appeared in court because there were no vehicles to transport them.
He said the situation had forced the correctional authorities to resort to hiring commercial buses to convey inmates to court.
“Sometimes we have to go to the local park to hire mini buses that will convey inmates to the court. The decision is very risky as you must ensure that the person you engage is trustworthy,” he said.
