The recent jailbreak at Koton Karfe Correctional Centre in Kogi State has further exposed the security lapses in the nation’s prisons. Consequently, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunde-Ojo has ordered an investigation into the March 24 jailbreak. The Kogi jailbreak occurred when inmates tampered with padlocks in one section of the facility, enabling 12 prisoners to flee. An officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), was lost in the incident, while five of the escapees were reportedly rearrested. Tunji-Ojo has also assured Nigerians that all escaped inmates would be recaptured through advanced biometric technology and other security measures.
Let the probe panel find out the remote and immediate causes of the Kogi jailbreak and come up with recommendations to avert recurring jailbreaks in the country. Since 2020, Nigeria has witnessed many horrendous and avoidable jailbreaks. Following the escalation of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest, hoodlums seized the occasion to attack three correctional facilities in Edo and Ondo on October 19 and 22 and freed the inmates. However, the attempt to attack Afara Umuahia Correctional Centre in Abia State on October 22, 2020 was rebuffed by security agencies.
Similarly, hundreds of gunmen attacked and set ablaze the custodial facility in Owerri, Imo State on April 5, 2021, and freed over 1,800 inmates. The Imo State Police Command Headquarters adjacent to the correctional centre was also not spared. Security agencies also foiled an attempted jailbreak by inmates of Kurmawa Prison located within the Emir’s Palace in Kano, on April 22, 2021. Three months later, on July 8, 2021, some inmates of the Jos Correctional Centre escaped, after overpowering the security men on duty. On September 13, 2021, armed men attacked the prison facility in Kabba, Kogi State. The Abolongo Custodial Centre in Oyo came under attack by gunmen on October 22, 2021. Kuje Medium Prison in Abuja was attacked on July 5, 2022, by suspected Boko Haram terrorists who freed inmates including 64 of their members held in the facility.
Unfortunately, the March 24 attack on Koton Karfe Prisons was not the first of such assaults on the centre. The facility has witnessed four separate jailbreaks in the last 10 years. The first incident occurred on July 29, 2016, when 13 inmates escaped from the correctional centre. Three years later, on October 28, 2019, flood ravaged a section of the same facility, allowing 122 inmates to escape. The recurring attacks on the facility and others elsewhere, show that the correctional centres are not adequately fortified. The development is not good for the nation’s security system.
The nation’s correctional centres must be protected from incessant jailbreaks. The newly confirmed Controller-General of NCoS, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, must rise to the occasion and avert future jailbreaks. Koton Karfe Correctional Centre and others in the country must be secured. Let the security around the correctional centres be enhanced with Close circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and technology.
The regularity of jailbreaks calls for urgent scrutiny of the nation’s criminal justice system. Allowing awaiting trial detainees spend longer years in prison could be linked to incessant jailbreaks. Therefore, there is need to hasten the trials of awaiting trail inmates and reduce the period of confinement in the prisons. Corruption in the correctional system can lead to jailbreaks. Overcrowding in the nation’s prisons and poor feeding can lead to unrest in the prisons. First offenders can be allowed to do community service instead of being lumped into prison for flimsy offences like wandering and stealing a fowl. The number of inmates kept in the correctional centres without trial, should be reduced for seamless management of the facilities.
There is need for synergy between the Ministries of Justice and Interior to hasten the trial of awaiting trial detainees. We say this because justice delayed is justice denied. Unfortunately, cases drag for years in Nigerian courts. Even with the much-touted computerization of the courts, the dispensation of justice has been very slow. More judges should be employed for quicker dispensation of justice in the country.
The welfare of the prison inmates should be improved to guard against riots that may lead to jailbreaks. Officers managing the prisons should be adequately remunerated and provided with necessary equipment to enhance their operational efficiency. Manpower shortage cannot be ruled out in the incessant jailbreaks. Let the prison authorities recruit more personnel.
The detention facilities should live up to the reputation of being correctional centres. They should be places where on serving out terms, inmates should come out being better members of the society. The centres need to be rebuilt or renovated and equipped with modern facilities. Let the probe on the Koton Karfe jailbreak be thorough and transparent, to guard against similar occurrences in the future.