Lagos State has approved the release and sentence review of 91 convicted inmates in honour of the 2025 UN Human Rights Day.
The decision was made under the state government’s constitutional power to grant clemency.
The beneficiaries are inmates who have already completed more than 70 per cent of their jail terms.
Out of the total number, 80 inmates have been cleared for immediate release.
The announcement was made by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), during a press briefing held on Wednesday by the Ministry of Justice and the Directorate of Citizens’ Rights.
He noted that the directorate, which handles a wide range of human rights-related issues, successfully resolved 1,200 cases within the past year.
He explained that when Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, Lagos State identified the need to rebuild public trust and restore citizens’ confidence in institutions responsible for protecting human rights.
“It was against this backdrop that the Directorate of Citizens Rights was created,” he said.
According to him, “It was a deliberate democratic intervention by the then governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Senator Bola Tinubu, now the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, designed to empower citizens with the knowledge of their rights, provide an accessible mechanism for redress, and ensure that abuses associated with military rule never again become part of our civil reality.”
He added that the directorate became a vital component of the state’s justice system. What began with five foundational units — the Citizens Mediation Unit, the Public Defender Unit, the Human Rights Unit, the Consumer Rights Protection Unit, and the Justice Now Information Unit — has grown into a network of fully established agencies.
Continuing his remarks, he said the directorate received about 1,950 petitions over the past year, resolved 1,200 of them through mediation, while the remaining cases are still under investigation or in court.
He stated that the directorate is currently managing around 50 fundamental rights cases across the Federal and State High Courts, covering issues such as alleged police misconduct, unlawful detention, property disputes, and denial of parental access.
While highlighting the directorate’s expanded role in safeguarding human rights and protecting the dignity of every resident, he urged Lagosians to respect the rights of others and obey the law. He assured that the directorate and the wider justice sector will continue to champion fairness, equality, accountability, and equal access to justice.
He also noted that “The Bureau of Public Defender continues to provide free legal representation to indigent residents, including survivors of domestic violence, victims of rape and sexual offenses, children in conflict with the law, and individuals unlawfully detained.”
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