By Palma Ileye
Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior has promised to provide better Correctional facilities to secure the lives of inmates and ensure effective services.
Speaking yesterday during a tour of the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said that as a result of the storm the outer wall was affected and 10 out of the 119 inmates that escaped have been captured leaving 109 assuring that through the manhunt, the Federal Government will do everything possible to ensure they are all brought back.
Tunji-Ojo said, “Also, we will make sure we restore sanity so that this does not happen in any of other vicinity.”
He also stated that the President has been talking about urbanization eating into the Correctional Centres, saying that, “This is a good example, therefore we need to relocate most of our Correctional Centres away from our city centres in order to create better space, security and infrastructure.
“We are hear to take responsibility as Government, we were elected to do a job and that job we are prepared to do regardless of how difficult it is and we are talking to sisters Agencies to synergise, collaborate to quicken the process.”
Also in a press release issued by Adamu Samson Duza, Deputy Superintendent of Corrections Command, Public Relations Officer, FCT Command stated that heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 had wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centres, Suleja, Niger state, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of one hundred and nineteen (119) inmates of the facility.
The statement disclosed that the Service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the rest.
It stated that the Service was not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and that they are old and weak.
Noting that the Service was making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way for modern ones.
“This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six (6) number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.
“The Service wished to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance. The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,” the Service statement added.
