The Nigerian Federal Government on Wednesday vowed to use maximum force to halt recurring jailbreaks and invasion of its prisons, Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa has said.
Nababa, who spoke in a statement Wednesday following a botched jailbreak by some inmates at the Ile-Ife Custodial Centre in Osun State on Tuesday, said that as the last organ of government in the line of justice administration, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has the mandate to ensure crime suspects and hardened criminals are not inappropriately released into the society.
Four casualties were recorded during the chaos masterminded by a group of inmates who attacked some officers at the centre and mobilised others in a bid to facilitate a jailbreak and escape of criminals.
The Ile-Ife incident was the 16th jailbreak/invasion of the nation’s correctional facilities in about one year, with eight successful.
The most prominent occurred on Sunday, November 28, when a group of gunmen stormed the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Jos, Plateau State, with sophisticated weapons, escaping with 262 inmates, though 10 of the inmates were re-arrested.
The NCoS and sister security agencies killed one of the attackers who was held up in the prison. And the attacking terrorists gunned down nine inmates and one NCoS armed squad personnel. Another NCoS personnel was shot in the hand while six inmates were also injured.
Currently, Nigeria has maximum custodial facilities capacity for about 57,278 inmates. But it has a current population of about 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.
Nababa, in a statement by NCoS Spokesperson, Francis Enobore, applauded the manner the attempted jailbreak was promptly controlled by officials of the prison.
He has also ordered detailed investigation to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the disturbance.
“While expressing his condolences to the families of those who lost dear lives in the incident, he wishes to, once again, remind the public that the Nigerian Correctional Service remains the last organ of government in the line of justice administration in Nigeria. administration.
“Therefore, it is determined to resist any attempt, whether internally generated or externally motivated to compromise the sanctity of custodial centres in the country and this will be carried out with maximum force where necessary.
“The public is assured of the continuous care and support for the reformation and general welfare of inmates which is a core mandate of the cervice,” he said in the statement.