Officials Admit Terrorists’ Invasion Of Kuje Prison Was National Embarrassment, But There’s Little Structural Changes To Prevent  Recurrence

Christopher Philip Jen, the Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC) in charge of Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre, was welcoming when THE WHISTLER visited the facility on Tuesday. He was most eager to discuss the changes that had taken place at the prison since the July 5, 2022, invasion by terrorists who freed hundreds of inmates, some of who have not been accounted for to date.

 “The incident that happened last year was an embarrassment to us, and the Service has made tremendous efforts to ensure that both structural and human development capacity and technological aspects of it are being put in place to forestall any other occurrence.

“The outside facilities have been occupied by various security agents including the Army, police, NSCDC, Immigrations, and Armed Squad, all are working in synergy to ensure that we can take care of eventualities if again they occur,” he revealed, adding that the prison environment had also been lighted.

DCC Jen is right that some changes have come to the prison. For instance, from the Situation Room of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Headquarters, Abuja, everything happening at Kuje and other Correctional Centres in the country can be monitored from a 144-inch projector screen.

The ‘E-Corrections’ was established six months after the invasion of Kuje to provide 24-hour surveillance of the facilities except for the cells.

But the factors that made it so easy for terrorists to invade the Kuje facility have not been addressed. The prison still relies on the old single perimeter wall which was reinforced after it was destroyed by terrorists.

Prisons that hold terrorists and other dangerous criminals are expected to have at least a second perimeter wall fence.

Although the structure for a second perimeter wall is being erected at Kuje, the job is still in the steel reinforcement stage.

The road to the Kuje facility remains untarred, while the old metal gate is still there without any reinforcement to ensure resistance to any future jailbreak attempt.

The perimeter wall holding the gate, destroyed by terrorists to gain access to the facility was only “strengthened” with additional layers of concrete blocks to increase its height.

Upon entry, the precinct appears the same aside from the ongoing construction of a retaining wall, currently at the steel reinforcement stage.

Officials who spoke to our correspondent off the record cited poor funding and the inconsistent disbursement of funds as reasons for the slow progress of restructuring of the Kuje facility.

However, there are some noticeable changes in the Kuje facility. Solar panels have been installed to generate power and enhance night surveillance. CCTV cameras were also sighted in strategic areas of the facility.

Facility Still Congested

The 560-capacity facility was holding 900 inmates when terrorists struck in 2022, but that figure had reduced to 580 when THE WHISTLER visited.

 A further breakdown showed that a total of 439 inmates were awaiting trial — 25 on terrorism-related cases; 64 on murder-related; 63 on drug-related offences among others.

While a total of 141 inmates had been convicted — four on terrorism-related cases; 14 on abduction-related cases; 18 on Murder-related cases, and 46 on drug-related cases among others.

Fate Of Inmates

Meanwhile, THE WHISTLER could not immediately verify the number of inmates recaptured after the jailbreak last year, but the NCoS Spokesperson, Abubakar Umar, said the Service had “recaptured more than half of those that escaped including terrorists” since the incident, last year. He added that the Service was determined to recapture all of them.

Recall that at least 443 inmates were recaptured less than 24 hours after the jailbreak that freed 879 inmates. Others were indiscriminately arrested in different states by operatives of other security agencies.

Of the inmates that did not flee, Umar said the Service will reward them with “Remission of Sentence”, an executive act granted to well-behaved inmates that shorten the period of their sentence.

“Once a suspect is sent to our facilities for two years jail term, one-third (1/3) of that sentence will serve as remission, subject to good behaviour while in custody. However, for those who did not show any good conduct, their remission will be seized, and they will serve their jail term completely.

“So, the remission of those who did not escape will be activated,” he explained.

When asked if any prison staff was arrested following speculations of a security breach, Umar said, “None of our staff was found guilty, and there was no arrest.”

On the issue of funding, Umar called for collaborations from corporate organizations, well-to-do Nigerians, and Non-Government Organisations” to ensure the safety of its facilities.

“The security of correctional service is the security of all. The safety of those kept behind bars is very important to Nigerians,” he said.