Katsina Times
Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umar Radda, PhD, has unveiled a new initiative aimed at securing the release of indigenes of the state currently imprisoned for failing to repay minor debts or fines.
The disclosure was made during a weekly radio programme on Vision FM, where former Katsina governorship candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Umar Abdullahi Tsauri, popularly known as Tata, provided details of the plan. The programme, titled “Katsinawa, Dikko Ya Aiko Ni” is broadcast in partnership with Katsina City News.
According to Tata, the initiative is designed to highlight government policies, engage experts and political stakeholders, and inform citizens about the Radda administration’s welfare programmes.
“We met with the Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Danladi, and presented the proposal to him. He gave his full approval and directed magistrate and lower courts to compile the names of those jailed over debt-related cases,” Tata explained.
Preliminary findings, he revealed, were striking. “We discovered a man jailed for owing as little as ₦9,000, while the highest debt recorded so far is only ₦90,000,” Tata said.
He stressed that the programme does not cover major financial crimes involving millions of naira, but is strictly for inmates with small debts they are unable to pay. Currently, all 34 local government courts, 135 reconciliation courts, and 30 magistrate courts in the state are gathering records of affected prisoners.
“We have already started with Charanci Local Government and the Katsina Reconciliation Court. Judges are actively compiling the necessary data,” Tata added.
Legal experts also featured on the programme, including Yusuf Lawal Kurungafa of the Katsina Reconciliation Court and Muhammad Lawal Charanci, Judge of the Charanci Area Court. They shed light on judicial procedures and how debt-related sentences are enforced.
The programme, anchored weekly by Tata, airs every Thursday from 10:00 pm to midnight, bringing together professionals and government officials to discuss state policies and initiatives.
