From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Women’s Wing, Jigawa State chapter, has successfully secured the release of a 22-year-old nursing mother from Garki Correctional Centre in the state after settling her fine.
The Chairperson of the NLC Women’s Wing, Comrade Salma Ilyasu Abubakar, revealed this while briefing newsmen on some humanitarian activities they had carried out in commemoration of the 2026 International Women’s Day.
She explained that when they visited the Correctional Centre in Garki to deliver some assistance, the group noticed a young lady carrying a two-month-old baby.
“After making an enquiry, we found out that she was detained for failing to pay a fine imposed by the court, and after a few months, she gave birth in the centre.
“We asked our lawyer to follow up on the case, which he eventually did, and we successfully secured her release after paying the fine.”
She, however, lamented the condition of the correctional centres as very pitiable, urging collaborative efforts to address the problems.
Comrade Sirko added that based on their engagement with many inmates, they learned that a substantial number of inmates are held for minor civil cases that could be resolved without necessarily jailing them.
The Chairperson then called on judges to consider the condition of pregnant women when delivering judgment, and to treat anyone with minor civil cases with mercy, providing an alternative to detention at correctional centres.
She promised to keep on visiting correctional centres and also encouraged other unions do so for rescue of such women and other people with similar special conditions.
