The release of 70 persons arrested or tried for allegedly partaking in banditry that provoked public outrage against Katsina State Government has drawn defence from the latter.
The freed suspects ranged from those arrested to those facing prosecution.
The process to release them was made public by SaharaReporters via a report which quoted a memo to the State Ministry of Justice and addressed to the Chief Judge of the state, with which the government requested the intervention of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to facilitate the release of the suspects.
The revelation drew public outrage in some sections causing the state government to justify its action through the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Muazu, who in an interview he granted an online broadcasting platform, DCL Hausa on Saturday described the plan as part of a broader efforts to improve security in the state.
Framing the freed suspects as repentant bandits, the Commissioner disclosed that state government had peace agreements with bandits saying the accord resulted in the release of about 1,000 abducted persons across several communities.
Muazu explained that at least 15 local government areas were involved in the peace arrangement, declaring that the deal has a striking semblance to event in wartime where warring parties exchange prisoners.
Providing details of the exchange, he gave figures of the released abductees from several local government areas as including Sabuwa (310), Bakori (125), Danmusa (60), Dutsinma (62) and Safana (36).
The commissioner stated that neither the Ministry of Justice nor the courts had violated any existing laws, saying anyone dissatisfied with the decision was free to seek legal redress.
