The Nigeria Correctional Service has stepped up efforts to track down and recapture escaped inmates of the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, Niger State.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Thursday, said the government would relocate a lot of correctional centres to create better infrastructure and security.
Tunji-Ojo made the pledge when he visited the Niger custodial centre, where 119 inmates had escaped following a rainstorm that damaged the facility on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Ozoya Imohimi.
The minister said it was imperative to relocate a lot of the correctional centres to a conducive environment.
“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 added.
According to him, the ministry was already working behind the scenes to fashion out a correctional system that would work for all.
Tunji-Ojo assured that such an incident would not happen again in any other facility across the country.
The spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Samson Duza, said 119 inmates initially escaped, but 14 of them were later recaptured by the security forces.
The FCT command of the NCoS is in charge of the Kuje and Suleja medium security custodial centres in Abuja, and Niger State.
Speaking on the incident during a visit to the facility, the minister said, “The President has always talked about urbanisation eating into our correctional centres.
“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.”
Tunji-Ojo emphasised the role of custodial centres as symbols of hope, reaffirming the government’s commitment to safety and redemption for all.
Speaking on the incident, Duza explained that the prison break followed a rainstorm that destroyed the Suleja facility on Wednesday night.
The downpour caused severe damage to the custodial centre’s infrastructure, including a breach in the perimeter fence, allowing the inmates to flee.
According to him, the downpour also wreaked havoc on the surrounding buildings and part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence.
He said the service had immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms in collaboration with other security agencies.
“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,’’ he explained.
Ten fleeing inmates were recaptured early Thursday morning and an additional four were re-arrested later in the day.
Frantic prison officials were said to have stormed the Zuba motor park in search of the escaping inmates.
They reportedly searched commercial buses and taxi cabs as they widened the dragnet for the fugitives.
Duza stated that the NCoS 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.
He added, “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.”
The FCT NCoS spokesperson said 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, adding that their pictures and names would soon be released to the public.
