Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Thursday granted pardon to 123 prison inmates in the state.

Ganduje, who witnessed the release of the inmates from Goron Dutse Prison, said the gesture was in the spirit of the Eid-El Fitr celebration.

He said the inmates were selected based on the gravity of the offences and signs of reformation while in prison.

The governor said the decision to visit the prison was to show the inmates that the state government was aware of their existence and still regarded them as citizens of the state.

He stressed that the gesture was to complement the Federal Government’s efforts on the decongestion of the nation’s prisons.

The governor advised the ex-inmates to change their attitudes to life and pray for peace and stability in Nigeria.

He also gave each of the freed inmates N5,000 as transport fare to their various destinations.

Earlier, the Comptroller ‎of Prisons in the state, Suleiman Suleiman, thanked the governor for freeing thousands of inmates since he assumed office in 2015.

Suleiman advised the freed inmates to stay off crime to avoid going back to prison.