By Mercy Aikoye
The Nigerian Army has blamed the low fence and the absence of CCTV cameras as largely responsible for the Kuje prison break on July 5, 2022.
This is against the backdrop of the probe instituted by the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Reformatory Institutions, Justice, Police Affairs, Interior, and Human Rights in Abuja on Wednesday. The committee is investigating the whereabouts of inmates who escaped from Kuje Corrections Center.
Major Peter Ogbuinya, Assistant Director Commercial Law, Directorate of Legal Services, said after the prison break, the army “observed that the place where Kuje prison is located is more of a built-up area.
The representative of the Chief of Staff, Ogbuinya, said the Nigerian Army was only playing a complimentary role to the correctional centers to assist them adding a that the army was not the only security agency deployed to Kuje prison. According to him, the day it took place, we had a rotation of troops, and it was that day the incident took place. I wouldn’t want to comment on the possibility of having an insider.
Mrs Ayoola Daniel, representing the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said the ministry was in support of the committee to decongest the prison. She said the correctional service had been removed from the exclusive to concurrent list, adding that states were expected to take up responsibility to decongest the prison.
Hon. Chinedu Ogah, Chairman, Joint Committees, said the correctional service is key to Nigeria’s security and that the committee would do what is right by ensuring decongestion while urging stakeholders to make effective contributions to do what was needed.
