The oldest prisoner in Nigeria is currently serving a prison sentence in Enugu and he has just clocked 100 years.
Anywhere in the world, 100 years is usually marked with fanfare but not so for Nigeria’s oldest prisoner, Pa Celestine Egbunuche, who clocked 100 last Saturday; August 4, within the confines of Enugu Maximum Prison.
The centenarian, who hails from Akokwa in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, was condemned to death along with his son, Paul and another relation, now 87.
They were said to have been engaged in a fight over a piece of land and in the process, somebody died. With such fate, Pa Egbunuche has for over 17 years lived in desolation and hopelessness.
But all hope is not lost as a non-governmental organisation, Global Society for Anti-corruption (GSAC) is pushing for his release. GSAC has appealed to the Federal Government and Governor Rochas Okorocha to use their board of mercy and release Egbunuche, his 78 years old relation and son from prison.
Zonal Resource Executive of GSAC, Amaka Nweke commended Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Priscilla Emehelu for her recent prison visit where many inmates were granted freedom pleaded with her to look into the case of Pa Egbunuche whom she said their investigation showed might be Africa’s oldest inmate.
According to the NGO, Egbunuche has suffered from diabetes over the years, adding that with his age and failing health, it will be proper to release him to go and possibly die peacefully at home. If eventually released, the organisation would also want the Federal and State Governments to take care of Pa Egbunuche’s rehabilitation.
Experts said that in other jurisdictions, inmates above 65 years are eligible for either parole or state pardon.
Meanwhile, Daily Sun gathered that inmates of Enugu Maximum Prison have not had the luck of receiving Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to perform the usual granting of amnesty during ceremonial occasions like the Independence Day, Democracy Day and yuletide.
During a recent visit by our reporter, some of them claimed that they had turned a new leaf and appealed to the governor to emulate his counterparts in Anambra, Ebonyi, and Abia by granting them amnesty.
Their cries seemed to have attracted the attention of the chief judge, Emehelu, who during the 2018 jail delivery sessions in the three prisons in the state pardoned about 130 inmates.