Shocking jail break in Minna
Minister of Interior Lt-General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau said on Monday this week that 182 out of the 210 prisoners at the Minna Medium Security Prison are currently at large following an attack on the facility. Gunmen had on Sunday night June 3, invaded the new Minna prison yard, killing one prison officer and an Okada rider that conveyed the gunman to the facility. Media reports said the gunman came to the prison premises about 9pm, shooting sporadically for over an hour to scare away residents. The attackers gained access into the facility after exchanging fire with prison officials.
Dambazau said after an on-the-spot-assessment tour of Minna prison that two condemned prisoners whose death warrants were to be signed by Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State that day (Monday) were among the escapees and that that could have been the reason for the jail break. He blamed the jail break on security gaps, which he said “must be tackled to prevent reoccurrence.” Dambazau said 28 escapees were re-arrested and hoped that more will be tracked down. He said a committee had been set up to investigate the incident.
Comptroller General of Nigeria Prisons Service Ja’afaru Ahmed however debunked rumours that the prison was attacked because it had Boko Haram inmates. Ahmed neither disclosed the number of officials on duty at the time of the attack nor those injured. He said investigation into the incident would reveal the reason behind the attack and how the attackers gained access into the facility.
Governor Abubakar Bello however countered the allegation that the attack was the handiwork of some condemned criminals. He also refuted claims that the attackers were suspected Boko Haram insurgents who came to free some of their members. He said since he became governor in 2015, he was yet to see any warrant on the execution of condemned criminals. “It is only when I see anything on condemned criminals that I will do something on it”, he said. Bello said the state was prepared to partner with the federal government to address the challenges of infrastructure and manpower shortage at the prison.
It would be recalled that in June 2016, two notorious kidnappers standing trial for abducting, raping and killing Mrs. Edith Chinedu Aliyu escaped in a daring jailbreak from the Medium Security Prison at Kuje, Abuja. The two inmates, Maxwell Ajukwu and Solomon Amodu, used a plank of wood to scale the prison’s high wall when Muslim inmates were breaking their Ramadan fast. Similarly, 36 dangerous inmates escaped from the Ikot Ekpene Prison in Akwa Ibom State on December 27, last year after attacking the personnel on duty.
We are reminded, each time there is a jailbreak, of some of its remote causes. Several media reports in the recent past showed that majority of inmates in Nigerian prisons are suspects awaiting trial. Suspects remain on trial for too long because of weaknesses in the criminal justice system. Overcrowded prison cells are a direct consequence of prolonged trials and are a serious threat to the security of prison yards. It provides ample chances for detainees to conspire to hatch escape plans. Then also, many state governors are said to fail to sign warrants for the execution of condemned criminals.
While we urge the committee to conclude its investigation and submit its report in good time, we call on the Minister of Interior to act on the committee’s recommendations to end jail breaks in Nigeria. The Chief Judge in every state could help to reduce jailbreaks in Nigeria by decongesting prisons by paying periodic visits to prison yards. This is to carry out instant disposal of cases in which suspects have been on trial for too long. To equally forestall congestion in prisons, prosecuting officers are advised to prepare their case files promptly and accurately in order to avert the consequences of their reposting to another State Command or the risk of getting parts of the exhibits destroyed.