Miffed by the incessant jailbreaks and the recent escape of 13
inmates from Koton Kafea Prison in Kogi State, the Federal Government
has threatened to sanction state controllers of prisons or any officer
in involved in future jailbreak.
While giving the warning in Abuja during a parley with state
controllers of prisons and senior officers in Abuja, the Minister of
Interior, Lt-Gen. Abudulraham Dambazau (rtd), however, blamed the
incident on several teething challenges.
Admitting the specific challenges such as congestion, negligence and
structural deficiency confronting the prison services, the minister
said: “You are here to interact with the Controller-General of Prisons
on an issue that is very important in our minds. “I know the
significance of prison service as a custodian of inmates. You also have
the responsibility to rehabilitate those in custody.
That is why this meeting has become important to know how to tackle
the problem of incessant escape of inmates in the last two months. “The
first at Kuje Prison and another at the Koton Karfe Prison in Kogi
State, this is certainly not good news at all. We need to find way to
deal with this incident. I am aware that some of these prisons have
structural problem. Even the most recent ones are not constructed to
standard. Secondly, I am also aware of the fact that quite a few of them
are very old.
“I have visited many of them and I know that a few of them are as old
as a century like the Kano Prison that is more than 100 years old. I am
also aware that the number of inmates has increased without improving
the facilities.
“Despite all these problems, I am aware that there are some things
that are very fundamental that rest on your shoulders. There are those
things you know must be done to ensure the security of prisons.
They include patrolling the prisons, manning the towers, keeping
records and knowing the numbers of prisoners you have.” Meanwhile,
giving update on the recent jailbreak at Koton Kafea Prison, the
Controller-General (CG) of Prison, Ja’ faru Ahmed, revealed that seven
out of the 13 escapees had been recaptured.
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