On July 5, terrorists broke into the Kuje prison in Abuja and freed hundreds of inmates, including 64 members of the Boko Haram group.
Due to security lapses that failed to stop the attack or repel the terrorists when they launched, pressure has been placed on the military, intelligence services, and Nigerian Correctional Services.
This is just as sources have revealed the constraints prison authorities face in the administration of custodial facilities across the country. The Controller General of the NCoS is said to be mostly in the dark regarding intelligence updates and getting access to the president.
The military personnel in detention are currently being interrogated by a military investigation panel.
This is coming amid the call by President Muhamamadu Buhari for “a comprehensive report” on the incident.
An angry President Buhari had expressed disappointment with the collapsed intelligence in the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, saying, “I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
President Buhari, who, like most Nigerians, was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack queried: “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” He had reeled out question after question.
The military authorities came under attack as it was reported that soldiers guarding the facility were withdrawn 24 hours before the attack.
Observers have also alleged internal compromise and called for an investigation.
It was also learned from an investigation that the security personnel on duty that day did not put up any resistance when the terrorists struck, and that the only bullet shells found in the prison premises were those fired by the invaders – meaning that the military, police, DSS, Civil Defence and armed prison guards did not fight the invaders.
According to military sources, an officer and the soldiers have been detained in the special military detention facility in Abuja in an underground cell.
When contacted, Captain Godfrey Abakpa, assistant director of Army Public Relations, Guards Brigade, stated that the soldiers were not detained but rather invited as a part of the investigation.
According to him, the federal government had instructed the guards brigade and other security organizations to conduct an investigation to elucidate the incident’s circumstances.
“There is no arrest. If the investigation has not been concluded, there cannot be an arrest, otherwise how do you get the facts?
“There is no arrest, there is an investigation ongoing and the essence of this is to get the details of what happened before, during and after the attack.
“ If anyone is at the SIB, it is based on the ongoing investigation. It is expected to see the movement of those who are involved, that does not mean they have been arrested.”
It was learnt that amid renewed terrorist activities, including the July 5, 2021 attack on Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, in Abuja, the controller-general, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, is still being denied access to President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the country’s all-important National Security Council briefings, as his agency is yet to be considered a critical component of security architecture.
It was gathered that due to this lack of access, both the controller-general and state controllers who are denied one-on-one meetings with nation’s chief security officers only get actionable intelligence from third parties and in most cases from fourth parties.
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The National Security Council (NEC), where the highest level of intelligence is shared, is often presided by the President and attended by the vice president, secretary to the government of the federation, the chief of staff to the president, and the national security adviser (NSA).
Others who attend the meeting are the ministers of interior, police affairs, defense, the attorney-general and minister of justice, chief of defence staff, chief of army staff, chief of naval staff, the chief of air staff, the inspector-general of police, the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), and director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
In the meantime, some irate officers who narrowly escaped death during the recent attack on the Kuje Custodial Center said that in addition to being understaffed and underequipped, most correctional facilities across the nation fall far short of the standards in developed nations, making them vulnerable to frequent attacks.
They attributed the seemingly never-ending attacks on prisons to a variety of causes, including structural problems made worse by lax security measures and a severe lack of the necessary armed guards and weaponry.
They said, “The prison walls are high enough but we need to reinforce them. They can be blown up with explosives. The perimeter fencing is not barbed to deter attackers and our worst fear is that escapees from the various correctional centres can be sending threat messages to judges, complainants , prosecutors and others who investigated and prosecuted their cases.”
Another factor attributed to recurrent jailbreaks is the country’s overcrowded correctional centres holding a large number of inmates awaiting trial. The officers pleaded with the leadership of the service, the minister of interior and the federal government to expedite action and ensure quick completion of work on the ongoing construction of modern-day centres nationwide. They stressed that if nothing was done, their trainings would remain efforts in futility.
“If we have the resources, there should be at least 15 to 20 armed warders on the ground at any point in time. At times, we have only four available. It is the same armed squad who guard the prisons that lead inmates to courts. We also need more arms and ammunition as well as other equipment. It’s sad that if we need ten items for instance, and three is supplied, that is grossly insufficient.”
Another official confided in our correspondent that arms and ammunition were last supplied to the NCoS sometime in 2019 but were insufficient.
“The supply should be consistent. We don’t have enough arms and ammunition to repel attacks. When we exhaust the ammunition during an attack, what can we do? We are not only short of arms and ammunition but grossly lack basic modern security apparatuses such as closed circuit television (CCTV).
“Some correctional centres have CCTVs but most of them are concentrated inside and cannot capture what is going on outside. They should be mounted on the perimeters to monitor external attacks.
“We have security towers but what is the essence of the towers when arms and ammunition are not sufficient to engage attackers? We also need a drone to carry out night patrol. The issue of awaiting trial inmates should also be looked into. Judiciary at both federal and state governments are involved and should look into it.”
Police Rearrest Kuje Jail Break Escapee in Katsina
The Katsina State Police Command has said that its detectives have rearrested one of the escaped Inmates from the Kuje Prison, Abuja, Kamala Lawal Abubakar, of Danmusa Local Government (LGA) of Katsina State.
Parading the suspect alongside other criminals at the state police headquarters, the spokesman, SP Gambo Isah, said the escaped inmate was apprehended while a team of policemen was carrying out raids on criminal hideouts at Danmusa LGA.
He explained, “At about 1800hrs, based on credible information, DPO Danmusa and team carried out raids at suspected criminal hideouts in Danmusa LGA and succeeded in arresting one Kamala Lawal Abubakar, aged 33yrs, of Unguwar Sale Quarters, Danmusa LGA, a suspected fugitive from Kuje prison, Abuja. In the course of the investigation, the suspect confessed to having escaped from Kuje Prison, Abuja, during the recent Kuje jailbreak.
“Some quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp was also recovered in his possession during a police search. The suspect will be handed over to Nigerian Correctional Service, for further necessary action”
Similarly, the command also arrested a suspected gang leader of notorious terrorists and kidnappers, Bello Sale Jino, ‘M’, aged 25yrs, of Modoji village, in a hideout at Bakuru village, Katsina.
According to the spokesman, in the course of the investigation, the suspect confessed to being a leader of the kidnap for ransom gang and was in the village based on the invitation given to him by one Mustapha Badamasi, who asked him to come the village and search for any rich man in the village that has plenty of cows.
He said, “The suspect confessed to have kidnapped many people within Katsina metropolitan city and collected ransom ranging from N80,000 to N200,000.”
