The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said the solution to incessant Custodial Center attacks was for the Nigerian Correctional Service to improve its intelligence gathering and acted upon information gathered without any delay.
The minister made the statement during a visit to the Maximum and Medium Security Custodial Centres in Kirikiri, Apapa, Lagos State on Tuesday.
The statement by the Media Adviser to the minister, Sola Fasure, read in part, “So far, no jailbreak by inmates has been successful, we have successfully quelled all of them. What we have reoccurring since the #EndSARS protests of October 2020, has been a mass of people attacking our facilities from outside.
“However, I have now directed the Controller General of the NCoS to double his efforts on intelligence gathering to fortify and prevent breaches to the Custodial Centres beyond the use of arms and force.”
” Today, a core of the criminal elements and insurgents across the country are on a path to defeat, they have been heavily degraded. Over 61,000 of them are in our custody in the North-East”
“Our assurance to Nigerians is that we shall rise above these challenges and emerge stronger and more resilient.”
He, however, directed personnel of the service to ensure that the Custodial Centers are defended against any form of attacks, warning that never again should attack on facilities happen.
Aregbesola said, “I have also informed our officers and men here that they must fight to defend our institutions, territory and constitution. It also applies to all others wherever they are posted in Nigeria. The ragtag groups of opportunists must not be allowed to attack our institutions and get away. They must not live to tell the story,”.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Correctional Service has dismissed reports that Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer, Osinachi, and a suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (a.k.a. Wadume), escaped from custody during July 5 jailbreak at Kuje Custodial Centre, Abuja.
The Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, Mr Chukwuedo Humphrey told journalists
on Tuesday in Abuja that the two inmates were still in custody.Saying, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates
