By Ben Adoga
Nigerians are yet to recover from the shock of the Kuje medium jailbreak
Kuje Correctional Center located in the FCT hosts very high-profile inmates like Boko Haram suspects and convicts and other hardened criminals. This is apart from high-profile VIP inmates like former governors and EFCC suspects and convicts.
FCT residents, especially the Kuje neighborhood shook as early as 10:00 pm when the city had not even gone to sleep, dare devil terrorists numbering about 300 stormed the correctional facility.
Explosives were ignited to open up the wall of the facility. One Civil Defence officer was killed in the process.
The attack on the Kuje Correctional facility has raised questions and suspicions among watchers of events.
During the attack, about 600 inmates escaped. 300 of them are said to have either been rearrested or voluntarily returned. What is curious, however, is that all the Boko Haram inmates escaped successfully without resistance.
Other hardened criminal suspects like the kidnap kingpin Wadume and convicts like Kabiru Sokoto among others all escaped while VIP inmates like Joshua Dariye, former governor of Plateau State, Jolly Tanko Nyame, former governor of Taraba State and DCP Abba Kyari were not taken away.
Other questions people are asking are how the security breach was so easily prosecuted. There are two major official entry points in and out of Kuje where the facility is located.
There are several checkpoints manned by military and Correctional officials. The Gwagwalada axis has two checkpoints, the outer security post is manned by armed correctional officers while the inner checkpoint is manned by fierce-looking armed military men. The same goes for the Lugbe axis. At each point, about 10 personnel who are on shift are always present.
It has been, however, widely speculated that a few hours before the operation, the military men were withdrawn.
The facility however has some porous bush spaces that can be exploited. From the Kuje facility in the bush to the nearest settlement, Chibiri is about 50 km, after that, Chikuku and Fulani settlements exist along the bush axis.
The operation which was said to have lasted for about three hours did not get any response or counterattack from the security forces.
President Buhari who visited on his way to Senegal expressed disappointment with the security breach and wondered how terrorists could organize such a successful operation without security agencies responding to the situation.
He was disappointed at the failure of intelligence and wondered why CCTV cameras were not in the facility.
Some years back, the then Minister of Interior, Bashir Magashi had assured Nigerians that cameras were being installed. There were never installed as the facility had always operated without such facilities.
The Minister of Interior who was there earlier noted that despite the preparedness of the Centre, the terrorists had a successful operation.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaibu Belgore took the time to explain.
He said the terrorists came in an overwhelming number and were “very well prepared.”
He said the terrorists were confronted by security personnel but were overpowered.
A resident of Kuje, Mr. Matthew Haruna described this as a huge joke. He said what happened that night was a perfectly scripted play that was acted out.
Haruna argued that if there was a confrontation how come there were no casualties on the side of the terrorists.
“This is too cheap, too obvious that it was a script. There was no resistance or counterattack from the security agencies. If there were, how come there were no casualties on the side of terrorists, the military was not on the ground and did not reinforce to assist the Correctional officers.” Haruna noted.
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He also pointed out that the location is not far away from the Abuja airport which equally hosts the Nigeria Air Force. An Army formation is equally at that axis, he pointed out.
Haruna said since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power, terrorists seem to have been emboldened and attacks on correctional centers have become very easy and successfully prosecuted each time they want to.
The Minister of the FCT, Muhammad Musa Bello when he visited, maybe, in want of what to say, charged traditional rulers to fish out terrorists.
A supposedly very heavily fortified security organization where the military could not help, the armed Correctional Centre officers could not help and even the very brazen Intelligence agencies like the DSS whom we were made to understand gave a hint of the operations could not help, what an innocent suicide mission for traditional rulers.
A catalog of Nigeria jail breaks under Buhari records about 15, and may still be counting.
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On October 19, 2020, Oko Prison in Edo was attacked; a few days later, on October 21, 2020, Benin Prison was broken into. A total number of 1,993 inmates escaped from the two facilities.
On October 22, 2020, Okitipupa prison in Ondo State witnessed a jailbreak where 58 inmates were released.
There were barely five months of respite before another took place on April 4, 2021, when the Owerri Prison break occurred and 1,844 inmates were freed.
After that, on September 13, 2021, Kabba Prison in Kogi State took place. 240 inmates were released. On October 22, 2021, Abolongo Prison in Oyo State witnessed a jail break and 837 inmates escaped.
On July 19, 2021, Jos maximum security prison in Plateau State was attacked, and four inmates escaped. On November 28, 2021, Jos medium-security prison was attacked and 262 inmates were set free and 10 other inmates were killed.
September 3, 2015 – Sokoto Remand Home was broken into where 13 inmates escaped.
June 4, 2018 – Minna Maximum Security prison break took place, and 210 inmates escaped. January 2, 2022, witnessed that of Mandela Prison in Ilorin, Kwara State where three inmates escaped.
On May 13, 2022, Agbor Prison, Delta State fence collapsed, and three inmates escaped. While on October 7, 2017 – the Enugu Maximum prison break took place, and two inmates escaped in this incidence.
While on December 27, 2017, Ikot Ekpene Prison, in Akwa Ibom State was attacked. 47 inmates escaped.
In all these, the operations have been successful without much resistance from security forces, the terrorists not suffering any casualties in these operations leaves much to be desired and begs the question.
