Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has granted amnesty to 794 prisoners in a bid to decongest Ghana's prisons, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The move is in accordance with Article 72(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that the president shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense. 

A statement from the Ghana Prisons Service said those who were pardoned include 772 first offenders, 16 very old prisoners, and 4 seriously ill inmates.

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2 other inmates also had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

The amnesty comes at a time when many concerns have been raised regarding the safety of prisoners as the country's case count of the Coronavirus is on a fast increase.

Read the full statement below