Jailbreaks: Reps seek staff audit, investigation of prison corruption
AREWA AGENDA – The House of Representatives urged the comptroller general of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to undertake a staff audit of all staff and review the service codes of conduct between prisoners and personnel.
The call was sequel to the unanimous adoption of a motion by Ugonna Ozurigbo (PDP-Imo) at a plenary session on Wednesday.
He recalled that the former President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan described the Kuje incident as an insider job.
Mr Ozirigno expressed worry about three jailbreaks “between January and July 2022 in Mandala, Kwara. On January 2, 2022, Agbor correctional facility, Delta in May and Kuje Prison in July 2022. In each of these jailbreaks, inmates escaped, and the facility was torched. During the Kuje prison break that occurred in July 2021, 879 inmates, including 64 terrorists affiliated with Islamic State, escaped.”
Moving the motion earlier, Mr Ozurigno noted that the insecurity in Nigeria had become commonplace and ubiquitous.
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“In the past, especially jailbreaks in correctional facilities in Nigeria, the attacks on security locations were only seen on television. Now its occurrences in real life have become incessant Jailbreaks in 2004 (1), 2007 (1), 2010 (1), 2012 (1), 2013 (2), 2014 (5), 2020 (6), 2021 (6) and 2022,” the lawmaker explained.
Mr Ozurigbo said the recent letter written by aggrieved prison staff to President Bola Tinubu, revealing that officials borrow money from inmates, was worrisome.
According to him, this validates public concern on the allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the facilities fueling inside job assertions to the attacks in the country.
The lawmaker said collecting money in any guise has implications and could be a case of who pays the piper calls the tune. He mentioned that an intervention by the House of Representatives would unravel the cankerworms, which could have caused major laxities, and eventually restore sanity to the country’s correctional services and operations.
Deputy speaker Benjamin Kalu mandated the Committee on Reformation Institutions (when constituted) to investigate the NCoS and report for further legislative action within three weeks.
The Kuje Prison in Abuja was attacked on Ju;y 5, 2022. An official statement from the NCS said over 889 escaped from Kuje prisons, including Boko Haram terrorists.
According to the official statement, 559 prisoners remained in the prisons after the attack, 443 were recaptured, and 443 remain at large.
This is Nigeria’s 20th jailbreak in seven years.
NAN
