MEDIA report that one Hope Olusegun Aroke, who is serving a 24-year jail term at Kirikiri Maximum Correction Centre, Lagos, successfully perpetrated a $1 million internet fraud while he is supposed to be in the correction centre, sounds like a fairy tale. But it is not, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating those who may have aided the convict to ridicule our correction centres. Instead of living its name, the Kirikiri Maximum Correction Centre has proved to be a haven, where a convict can conveniently continue to ply his nefarious trade.
That is a shame to the authorities of the prison, and those who colluded with the convict to perpetrate what is clearly a crime. How can a person who is supposed to be serving a punishment for his bad ways, and undergoing a procedure to live a normal life, be accorded the opportunity to continue in his bad ways? We demand that those responsible for the show of shame should be fished out and made to pay for their evil ways. It is also important to conduct an audit of the systems in all the correction centres.
According to media report, Mr. Aroke, in contravention of standard procedure, had access to internet and phones with which he was able to perpetrate the alleged crime. Indeed, he was said to have secured a transfer to the police hospital in Falomo, Lagos, from where he takes off to lodge in hotels, stays with his wife and children, attends parties, and literally paints the town red. He was also reported to have bought choice properties and cars, while he is supposed to be serving term.
‘It is unbelievable that our country’s maximum correction centre is run like the report showed. Not long ago, we had complained about such atrocities, as in the case of Mr Aroke, when it was claimed that supposed inmates of prisons in Nigeria…usually don’t really serve their term of imprisonment, as they could procure other persons to serve for them’
In the correction centre, he was Hope Olusegun Aroke serving a prison term, but simultaneously in the outside world, he is Mr Akinwunmi Sorinmade, who operates two bank accounts. The report notes that while his trial was ongoing in 2015, he bought a four-bedroom duplex at plot 12, Deji Fadoju Street, Megamounds Estate, Lekki County Home, Lekki, at the cost of N48 million. Back in 2012, he was arrested at the 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, and upon interrogation, he claimed to be a student at Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University, Malaysia.
Among the choice items recovered from him then were a Mercedes Benz Jeep, a 4Matic Mercedes Benz car and a Range Rover SUV. Justice Lateefa Okunnu who tried him, convicted him for obtaining by false pretense, cheque cloning, wire transfer and forgery. It is the jail term for these offences that he is supposedly serving at the Kirikiri Maximum Correction Centre. But instead of being corrected, he was given liberty to continue his nefarious activities even in the correction centre.
It is unbelievable that our country’s maximum correction centre is run like the report showed. Not long ago, we had complained about such atrocities, as in the case of Mr Aroke, when it was claimed that supposed inmates of prisons in Nigeria, especially those who are convicted of drug trafficking, usually don’t really serve their term of imprisonment, as they could procure other persons to serve for them. Some others enjoy the special privilege of sharing their terms, partly at home and partly in the centre.
Well, our intervention was before the name change from Nigerian Prison Service to Nigerian Correctional Service. The argument for the change of name is that a prison should be a correction centre, instead of a mere imprisonment centre. After all, an inmate will later re-join the society to live a normal life. But alas, it appears that those employed to correct need serious reorientation themselves.
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