NPS Boss: Staff Culpable in A’Ibom Jailbreak Will Not Go Unpunished
Okon Bassey
The Controller General of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Mr. Jafaaru Ahmed, has threatened to deal seriously with any worker found capable in the Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, jailbreak where 28 inmates are still at large.
Ahmed who spoke during inspection of facilities at the Ikot Ekpene Federal Prison at the weekend, noted that the prison was well fortified, attributing the December 27, 2017, jailbreak to lapses on the part of prison staff.
He said the prison attack which occurred at about 1147 hours was a deadly one as four persons that sustained gunshots later died while about 47 inmates reportedly escaped.
The attack by the prisoners was on kitchen staffs that were on duty as they seized an axe from fellow inmate attached to the kitchen, inflicting a deep cut to inmates’ head.
They succeeded in breaking the rear door of the entrance to the prison with the axe and engaged the staff in scuffle, and in the process, some escaped.
The controller general regretted that those inmates still at large are considered to be very hardened criminals, stressing that any staff found wanting would have to face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, “About 40 inmates found their way out of Ikot Ekpene Prisons in a broad daylight around 11.45a.m. They took on the lapses that they saw, perhaps they have been planning it for a very long time and actualised it on December 27, 2017, when they saw the opportunity.
“The 28 that are at large are very hardened criminals, some of them are kidnappers awaiting trials, while some are facing capital offences, therefore, it is something to worry about.”
He expressed worry over the negative influence that those still at large would have on the society instead of being in the custody to allow the other members of the society live in peace.
The prison boss however assured the people of the state and the country that the fleeing inmates would soon be recaptured to face their trials.
Ahmed debunked insinuations that the jailbreak was due to infringement on the fundamental rights of the inmates.
“These prisoners were not rioting because there was maladministration in the prison system, rather, they organised it in order to get freedom illegally. That is what actually happened.
“It was not that they were not being fed or given medical attention or not taken to court. They took lapses on the part of staff and organised to escape,” he further declared.
He praised the Akwa Ibom Government for the support given to the Nigeria Prisons Service, and appealed for more as well as sought the cooperation of other sister security agencies to enable the prisons service recaptured all the fleeing inmates to ensure peace and tranquility in the state.