The Federal Government may relocate many jails from city centres because of the growing urbanisation in the country.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave this indication on Thursday during a visit to the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre in Niger State, where 105 inmates escaped in a jailbreak on Wednesday night, after a rainstorm damaged sections of the facility.
The spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Samson Duza, said 119 inmates initially escaped but 14 of them were later recaptured by the security forces.
The FCT command of the NCoS is in charge of the Kuje and Suleja medium security custodial centres in Abuja and Niger State.
Speaking on the incident during a visit to the facility, the minister said, “The President has always talked about urbanisation eating into our correctional centres.
“You can look at the environment; it shows that we need to relocate a lot of our correctional centres and we need to relocate them away from city centres to create better space, security, and infrastructure.
“But as we have said, we are not here to make excuses. We are here to take responsibility. I want to assure you that we are talking to our sister agencies to make sure that we can synergize, collaborate, and ensure that there is a timely return of these escapees.
499 inmates
“This was a facility that was built to house 250 inmates. Before the incident, we had 499 inmates, which leads us to what we have been talking about -overcrowding in our correctional centres,” Tunji-Ojo explained.
He further highlighted the urgent need for reforms in the over 240 custodial centres nationwide.
Speaking to journalists after surveying the damage caused by the rainstorm, the minister attributed the breach to a natural disaster.
The minister assured swift action, emphasising the ongoing hunt for the escapees.
Tunji-Ojo pledged the Federal Government’s dedication to returning the 105 inmates to custody.
The minister said, “Because of the force majeure, the storm that happened, there was a breach of the outer wall of this facility, and some of the inmates escaped. The manhunt is presently ongoing. We will do everything humanly possible to make sure everyone is brought back.
499 inmates
“This was a facility that was built to house 250 inmates. Before the incident, we had 499 inmates, which leads us to what we have been talking about -overcrowding in our correctional centres,” Tunji-Ojo explained.
He further highlighted the urgent need for reforms in the over 240 custodial centres nationwide.
Speaking to journalists after surveying the damage caused by the rainstorm, the minister attributed the breach to a natural disaster.
The minister assured swift action, emphasising the ongoing hunt for the escapees.
Tunji-Ojo pledged the Federal Government’s dedication to returning the 105 inmates to custody.
The minister said, “Because of the force majeure, the storm that happened, there was a breach of the outer wall of this facility, and some of the inmates escaped. The manhunt is presently ongoing. We will do everything humanly possible to make sure everyone is brought back.
Frantic prison officials were said to have stormed the Zuba motor park in search of the escaping inmates.
They reportedly searched commercial buses and taxi cabs as they widened the dragnet for the fugitives.
Duza stated that the NCoS was aware that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and had become old and weak, adding that the service was constructing new facilities to replace the old ones.
He added, “This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six 3,000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria. This also includes the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.”
The FCT NCoS spokesperson said the service would soon display the names and pictures of the fleeing inmates on its website.
Duza noted that the command was collaborating with other security agencies to recapture the remaining fleeing inmates, adding that their pictures and names would soon be released to the public.
He noted, “Our intelligence officers, armed squadron officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, DSS (Department of State Servives), and other security agencies are combing the neighbouring communities to find the fleeing inmates. Very soon, we shall publish the names and pictures of the fleeing inmates.”
THE PUNCH
Be the first to comment