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Ben Dunno, Warri
Inmates at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Sapele, Delta State, have taken to violence by setting some offices within the premises on fire to protest alleged inhumane treatment melted out to them by the prisons officials.
It was learnt that the prisoners’ protest action almost resulted into jail but for the prompt intervention of some policemen and soilders deployed from the nearby command and units who immediately brought the situation under control.
Daily Sun’s sources close to the scene of the incident disclosed that the inmates locked down all activities at the correctional centre until the arrival of the state Comptroller of Correctional Centre from Asaba, the state capital.
They were reported to have accused the State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Marshall Mukoro, of bias against serving prisoners at the centre.
Specifically, the protesting prisoners alleged that only three inmates were freed during the visit of the chief judge to pardon some inmates in line with amnesty granted by President Muhammadu Buhari to decongest correctional centres across the country.
According to one of the sources, a prison official who pleaded anonymity, “none of the inmate escaped during the riot aside one building that was set ablaze by the inmates and about three offices were affected. The situation has been brought under control.
“The Delta State Comptroller of Correctional Centres has just arrived with the Police Area Commander in Sapele as well as the Divisional Police Officer. The Chairman of Sapele council is also here.
“What the inmates are saying is that they were not happy that only three of their colleagues were released when the state chief judge visited us some days back. They are demanding more people should be freed to decongest the place.”
The source, however, stated that the inferno had been put off by a combined team of firefighters from the State Fire Service and Seplat Fire Service.
Other sources at the scene of the incident further disclosed that “they (inmates) also complained that many inmates at the centre have not appear in court for over two years. Some also said they were not being well fed by the authorities.”
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Onome Onowakpoyeya, confirmed the protest by the inmates but debunked the incident being a jailbreak.
She added that normalcy has been restored to the centre.
