The Adamawa State Jail Delivery Committee has upheld the two-year prison sentence imposed on a 30-year-old man, Ibrahim Usman, for stealing 20 crates of beer in Hong Local Government Area of the state.
Usman was earlier convicted by the Upper Area Court in Hong after he was found guilty of taking the beer from Wuro Bokki, where he was subsequently arrested and arraigned. He has been serving his sentence at the Hong Correctional Centre.
During a routine visit to the facility, the Jail Delivery Committee—set up to review cases and decongest correctional centres across the state—invited Usman to appear before it. The committee is headed by the Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Hafsat Abdulrahman.
At the hearing, Usman reportedly admitted to committing the offence. After reviewing his case, the committee declined to grant any form of relief or review of the sentence, thereby affirming the two-year jail term handed down by the trial court.
The committee’s mandate includes considering pardons for eligible inmates as part of efforts to ease overcrowding in correctional centres. However, members said each case is assessed on its merits.
The Hong Correctional Centre currently holds 94 inmates, nearly twice its designed capacity of 50, highlighting ongoing concerns about congestion in custodial facilities across the state.
