Embarrassed by series of jail breaks, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has set up a special security team to strengthen security around Custodial centres across the country.
Controller General of NCoS, Mr Haliru Nababa said after a meeting with Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr Abubakar Audi, that the meeting was centred on strengthening intelligence gathering and sharing of same among security operatives to nip attacks in the bud.
On November 28, a group of gunmen stormed the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Jos, Plateau State, freeing 262 inmates, though 10 were immediately re-arrested. In the counter attack, NCoS and sister security agencies killed one of the attackers but the gunmen killed nine Prison inmates and one NCoS armed squad personnel. Another NCoS personnel was shot in the hand while six inmates were also injured.
The jailbreak in Jos is the 15th incident in the last one year in Nigeria, with eight successful. And a record 5,238 inmates escaped from the jailbreaks.
Currently, Nigeria has maximum custodial facilities capacity for 57,278 inmates. But as at last week, there was a total population of 68,747 inmates, made up of 67,422 males and 1,325 females, 18 per cent above capacity.
And out of the total of 68,747, 50,992 inmates, representing 74 per cent of the total population, are awaiting-trial while only 17,755 inmates, which is mere 26 per cent, are actual convicts.
The Jos centre, at the time of the attack, had 1,060 inmates, comprising 560 pre-trial detainees and 500 convicts.
Controller General Nababa said the meeting became imperative because Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, had on December 9 during the Ministerial retreat held in Ilorin, Kwara, directed security agencies under the Ministry of Interior to work together as a family in the area of intelligence gathering, sharing and physical confrontation with jail attackers.
He described the perpetrators as common enemies whose main agenda was to challenge the authority and test the might of the Federal government, adding that they must not be allowed to live to tell their story.
Nababa said that the synergy would also include immediate inauguration of a Joint Taskforce of armed personnel comprising the three arm bearing agencies under the Ministry of Interior.
He also said that the task force was expected to combine with the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed forces and the Nigeria Police Force that were already deployed to support corrections armed squad in guarding custodial centres.
Responding, Audi, lauded the initiative and promised to task all State Commandants of his Service to gear up for the onerous task.
Audi said that this would include protecting custodial centres that were now designated as critical national infrastructure being the last agency in the actualisation of criminal justice dispensation in Nigeria.
He also called for regular meetings and more investment in intelligence gathering that would help forestall armed invasion of facilities and other criminal activities in the future.
Also contributing, Jere, noted that the NIS was poised to activate the data of escapees in all the entry and exit points that were manned by his personnel in other to strengthen the recapture process already initiated.
Jere commended the CGC for vigorously pursuing the deployment of technology which, sooner than later, would replace the present operational system and among other things, make jail breaks difficult.
In a related development, the NCoS Controller General on Thursday, visited the Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Mr Aliyu Abubakar to finalise the process of red-flagging fleeing inmates.
Nababa said that this would be done through the harmonisation and sharing of inmates data already captured by NIMC, in an online transactions.