This is as the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said, when he visited the Niger custodial centre, that the government would relocate many correctional centres across the country in order to create better infrastructure and security.
The Nigerian government has said that it is extending search and recapture of 4000 inmates who escaped from the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, Niger State, to villages, nearby towns and camps of the Internally Displaced Persons.
This is as the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said, when he visited the Niger custodial centre, that the government would relocate many correctional centres across the country in order to create better infrastructure and security.
The minister’s visit was sequel to a rainstorm disaster that damaged the prison facility on Wednesday, leading to the escape of 119 inmates.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Ozoya Imohimi, the Interior minister said that it had become imperative to relocate a lot of the correctional centres to a conducive environment.
According to him, “This facility was built in 1914 to house 250 inmates. Before this incident, we had 499. This is what we keep talking about— the overcrowding of our correctional centres.
“You can look at the environment; it shows that we need to relocate them away from the city centre before creating better space, security and infrastructure.”
He said that the ministry was already working behind the scenes to fashion out a correctional system that would work for all, stressing that such an incident would not happen again in any other facility across the country.
Speaking on the rainstorm incident, the spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Samson Duza, said that 119 inmates escaped from the prison but 14 of them were later recaptured by the security forces.
Meanwhile, the minister in the statement said that “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 synergise, collaborate, and ensure that there is a timely return of these escapees.
“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, who further highlighted the urgent need for reforms in the over 240 custodial centres nationwide, while addressing journalists after inspecting the level of damage at Niger Correctional Centre attributed the incident to a natural disaster.
The minister assured swift action, stressing the ongoing hunt for the escapees, as he pledged the Nigerian government’s dedication to recapturing the 105 inmates.
He said that “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.
“We have also looked at the cause of the matter, because we must make sure that this does not happen again. We can see that the walls are old, and unfortunately, there are certain responsibilities that we must take.
“But, the most important thing is that we will do everything possible to restore sanity, to ensure that this does not happen in any other facility.”
The minister further said that “Obviously, we can see that the walls are old, and unfortunately, there are certain responsibilities that we must take.
“But, the most important thing is that we will do everything possible to restore sanity, to ensure that this does not happen in any other facility.”
He noted the role of custodial centres as symbols of hope, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safety and redemption for all.
Meanwhile, Duza said that the service had immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms in collaboration with other security agencies.
He said that “This gave way to the escape of a total of 119 inmates of the facility. But with the help of sister agencies, we have recaptured 14 of them and have taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the others.”
Duza noted that the Nigerian Correctional Service 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.
According to him, “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.”
Saying that 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.
He said, “Our intelligence officers, armed squadron officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, 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.”