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Tag: jailbreak

  • A’Ibom jailbreak: 28 inmates still at large–CG

    A’Ibom jailbreak: 28 inmates still at large–CG

    The Controller General of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) Mr Jaffaru Ahmed, has disclosed that 28 inmates of Ikot Ekpene Prisons that escaped during jailbreak on Dec. 27, 2017 were still at large.

    Ahmed disclosed this to newsmen after an inspection of facilities in Ikot Ekpene Prisons on Friday.

    The controller general, who described the facilities in Ikot Ekpene Prisons as well fortified, attributed the jailbreak to lapses on the part of prison staff.

    “About 40 inmates found their way out of Ikot Ekpene Prisons in a broad daylight around 11.45 a.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, some are facing capital offences and therefore it is something to worry,” Ahmed said.

    He lamented that those still at large supposed to be in custody to allow the other members of the society to live in peace.

    He assured Akwa Ibom people and the entire nation that the fleeing inmates would soon be recaptured to face their trials.

    He added that any staff found wanting would have to face the full wrath of the law.

    The controller general debunked insinuations from some quarters that the jailbreak was due to infringement on the fundamental rights of the inmates.

    He said, “These prisoners were not rioting because there was maladministration in the prison system, but 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.

    “Any insinuation anywhere, I state that investigation I have here before me, that there was nothing than they took lapses on the part of staff and organised to escape.”

    Ahmed commended the Akwa Ibom Government for the support given to the Nigeria Prisons Service and appealed for more.

    He thanked other sister security agencies for their cooperation and sought for more to enable the service to recaptured the fleeing inmates, to ensure peace and tranquillity in the state. (NAN)

  • Breaking: Explosion as security agencies abort jailbreak in Bayelsa

    Breaking: Explosion as security agencies abort jailbreak in Bayelsa

    Explosion on Sunday night rocked a section of the Okaka Prison in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, following failed attempts by six inmates to escape from the facility.

    The inmates led by one Victor Tekekuma, who is awaiting trial for murder and kidnapping, deployed an explosive in a failed bid to escape from the prison.

    Victor and five others blasted a toilet wall in the prison at 9.02 p.m. and crawled out through the improvised hole into the prison yard.

    However, the blast drawn the attention of prison officials and other security operatives on duty to the scene of the explosion and they responded swiftly to the situation.

    The fleeing inmates ran to the massive fence with the intention of blowing up the fence with the second explosive but were accosted and arrested by the security operatives.

    The state’s Controller of Prisons, Mr. Chiabu Chuks Victor, whose residence was close to the prison, gave distress calls to the state’s Police Commissioner, Amba Asuquo, who deployed a detachment of police operatives to the scene.

    The Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Mr. Segun Agbaje, the Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr. Desmond Agu and the Joint Task Force (JTF), also sent their officers to foil the plot.

    A security operative, who spoke in confidence, said the mastermind of the failed prison break got the IEDs through his brother-in-law, who paid him a visit in prison.

    He said the explosive was concealed in one of the sealed beverages delivered to the inmate by his in-law.

    “The IED was concealed in blue band margarine 900mg plastic pack. The content of the plastic was scooped out first.

    “Then the powdery device was buried inside the plastic and later covered with margarine. It was sealed with foil to make it look like a new product. It was smuggled into the cell as provision. It is difficult to detect such things,” he said.

    He added that Victor, after receiving the substance produced two IEDs out of it to be used in blowing the building walls.

    The state’s prison controller said the synergy among security agencies in the state saved the situation.

    He, however, said investigations were ongoing to unravel the circumstances behind the attempted jailbreak.

     

  • Abakaliki attempted jailbreak: No prisoner escaped, says NPS

    The Controller-General, (CG) of the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed has confirmed that no prisoner escaped during the attempted jailbreak in the early hours of last Thursday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
    Ahmed disclosed this while addressing the press during a courtesy visit to the Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi.
    The Controller General, who had earlier inspected Abakaliki prison stated that trouble started when prison officials were about to carry out routine cell-search in the morning but the inmates in a particular cell resisted the exercise.
    According to a statement issued in Abuja by the NPS spokesman, Francis Enobore, the prison boss said: “They suddenly became riotous, broke other cells and released the inmates. They eventually broke into the workshop to arm themselves with dangerous weapons and severely attacked some staff trapped in the yard while others made for the main gate and pulled it down.”
    “Meanwhile, the prisons Armed Squad and men from other security agencies on guard outside the perimeter fence were firing warning shots to deter the rampaging inmates but a number of them rushed out to escape.
    “The bold attempt was resisted by the combined team of armed personnel who presented what would have turned into a catastrophic security situation had the inmates succeeded in escaping.

    “Regrettably at the end of the fracas, six prisoners died and 10 others were injured. Six prison officers were severely injured. However, both staff and inmates are responding to treatment with some already discharged from the hospital.”
    The Controller General, the statement further explained has set up a 3-man panel to carry out a detailed investigation into the incident in order to establish both the immediate and remote causes of the riot.
    He commended the officers and men of Abakaliki Prisons for successfully foiling the attempted jailbreak and also thanked officers of other security agencies that promptly responded in resisting the jailbreak noting that such synergy was essential in maintaining peace and good order in the society.
    He also thanked the Governor for his assistance and timely visit to the prison.
    Ahmed said: “Routine cell-search is a tradition in the prison usually carried out as a proactive security measure to ensure that prisoners do not keep dangerous items that could aid escape or compromise the safety of their fellow prisoners or staff. It is the near abandonment of this practice that has largely been responsible for the recent escape of prisoners in Kuje, Koton Karfe and Nsukka prisons.
    The CGP promised to continue to support field officers in the onerous task of securing prisoners in safe and humane.
    He also assured that reformation and rehabilitation of inmates will be pursued with the required vigour in order to stem the vicious circle of repeat offences among ex-convicts.

    Abakaliki prison was built in 1946 with an installed capacity of 387 inmates but as at Thursday 18th August 2016, the prison had a population of 920 prisoners out of which 811 are awaiting trial Prisoners.

    The ring leader of the jailbreak had spent about nine years awaiting trial.

  • Kogi jailbreak: Six recaptured

    Kogi jailbreak: Six recaptured

    •Two convicts still on the run
    •Bello demands judicial enquiry

    The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, yesterday, confirmed that 13 prisoners, comprising 10 pre-trial detainees and three convicts, escaped from Koton Karfe prison in Kogi State, last Saturday.

    Six pre-trial detainees were, however, recaptured and returned to the prison.  Others, including two robbery convicts are still on the run.

    Ahmed spoke during an on-the-spot assessment of the prison.

    Investigation showed the jailbreak was reportedly carried out by the inmates, who scaled the fence after breaking through the inner wall of the facility.

    A statement by the NPS spokesman, Frances Enobore, said a three-man panel was raised to investigate the circumstances surrounding the break.

    It said appropriate measures have been set up to address congestion, particularly among prisoners awaiting trial, in line with the Federal Government’s reform agenda.

    The comptroller-general added that security would be tightened to forestall a recurrence.

    A security source, who spoke in confidence, said: “It’s as if someone in the prisons did not do his/her job and prisoners took advantage of that to escape.

    “The negligence may be ‘intentional’ and I hope the authorities will probe the break to forestall a recurrence. The remanding of some kidnap kingpins, paraded by the DSS, last week, may not be unconnected with the break.”

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, at the prison, appealed to the Federal Government to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the jailbreak.

    Bello, who was shocked at the frequent breaks, said the attack seems like a conspiracy.

    The governor, who was accompanied by top security officials, was not allowed into the yard to access the damage.

    He vowed to unearth the mystery behind the break.

    The 180-capacity all-male  facility, inaugurated in 2014, has 263 inmates. It was rebuilt and ‘fortified’ after the old structure, built in 1914, was broken into four.

    State Comptroller of Prison, Mr. Musa Maza, could not be reached for comments.

  • Jailbreak at Kuje prison as two inmates escape

    Jailbreak at Kuje prison as two inmates escape

    • Charles Okah still in our custody, says NPS

    Two accused persons on remand at the Kuje maximum Prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Friday escaped from the jailhouse, the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) confirmed yesterday.

    But one of the high profile inmates –Charles Okah – remained behind bars yesterday contrary to speculations earlier in the day that he was among the escapees.

    Charles,younger brother of jailed former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah, is standing trial for allegedly masterminding  the 2010 Independence Day bombing in Abuja.

    The NPS Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Francis Enobore, who confirmed the jail break said: “There was an incident at the prison on Friday night where two Awaiting Trial inmates escaped but it has nothing to do with Charles Okah.”

    He gave no details of how the jail break happened but said the Comptroller General of Prisons had ordered investigation into the incident.

    Enobore said sister security agencies had been informed about the escape to assist in re-arresting the run-away suspects.

    On Okah, he said: “Charles Okah is still in safe custody in Kuje Maximum security Prison.

    “The Controller General himself came when the news was trending. I drove down here myself just to confirm what I was told.

    “Actually yesterday (Friday) we had an incident where two awaiting trial inmates escaped from custody.

    “The CGP has already directed a preliminary investigation to be carried out.

    “The officers doing the investigation are in the prison yard now combing everywhere to find out how they escaped.

    “Throughout the night our armed men and other security personnel that were deployed to search the nearby bush around the prison unfortunately came back this morning (yesterday) but have not been able to find the two prisoners that escaped.

    “I can tell you that we maintain good relationship with other security operatives to recapture the prisoners.

    “CG has directed that detailed account of what happened should be forwarded to his office soonest.

    “And he has promised that any staff found wanting will not be spared and that such staff will be made to face the law. The two prisoners that escaped have no business with Charles Okah.”

    Okah,last February, sued the federal government for allegedly violating the rights of inmates at the Kuje Maximum Security Prison.

    He wants the court to compel government to pay him N350 million damages for alleged violation of his fundamental rights.

  • Why jailbreak is rampant, by NPS

    Why jailbreak is rampant, by NPS

    The Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) has attributed the increasing cases of jailbreak in recent time to the location of prisons in residential areas.

    The location of prisons within towns and other residential areas allows easy access to such facilities, a senior prison official, Patrick Ani said in Abuja.

    Ani, who represented the NPS at a stakeholders meeting put together by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on how to address growing congestion and insecurity in prisons, said measures aimed at addressing the problem of incessant jailbreak should consider the location of prisons.

    “When prisons are located within towns or cities, inmates are bound to have frequent and unwarranted visitors, who can infiltrate the prisons with substances that could aid jailbreaks,” he said.

    NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Professor Bem Angwe expressed concern over the recurring incidents of attacks on prison and jailbreaks, which he said, has  attendant implications on national security and citizens’ confidence in justice administration in the country.

    Angwe cautioned that the incessant strike by court workers, which has negative effect on the preservation of citizens’ human rights, was capable of eroding the people’s confidence in the judicial process, as it currently inhibits access to justice.

    He said the meeting was part of his commission’s consultation with stakeholders with a view to finding solutions to these national challenges. “The outcome of the consultation will be to convene a summit where relevant stakeholders will brainstorm and agree on concrete measures that must be undertaken to address the issue of security,” he said.

    Former Ekiti State Attorney General and member, Governing Council of the NHRC Olawale Fapohunda said the planned summit will address ways of reversing the current infrastructural decay in the prisons; inadequacies of the legal framework, with negative impact on the prisons; institutional reform of the prison, condition of service of prison officers, among others.

    He said the problem of prison congestion remains very crucial and must be properly addressed because it is mostly responsible for further problems generally envisaged in the nation’s prison.

    Also speaking, a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Mary Bayeikusi attributed the persistent delay in the criminal justice administration process to include arbitrary arrest and detention by security agencies and inadequate funding, among others.

    She advocated for alternative source of funding for the Nigeria Prison Service to enable it address its overwhelming problems, part of which includes jailbreak, which now poses a serious threat to national security.

    A representative of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, Zakari Majinyawa said the NSA has introduced a new security strategy that now emphasizes human security. He hailed NHRC’s plan for a summit on how to address problems associated with the prisons and their implications for national security.

  • Two feared killed in Calabar jailbreak attempt

    Two people are feared dead in a jail break attempt at the Calabar Prison, along Iman Street, in Cross River State, on Friday.

    The state Prison Controller, Clement Udosen, said contrary to earlier reports, there was no invasion in the incident that occurred at about 11.30 am, adding that no inmate escaped, as was earlier believed.

    Udosen did not confirm the fatalities, which he said was for the doctors to do.

    However, a staff of the prison, who spoke in confidence, said at least two inmates who attempted to escape were killed in an exchange of gunfire with the prison guards and other security agents.

    Narrating what happened, Udosen said, “By 11 o’clock in the morning, I was in my office in the headquarters, and the officer in charge of this prison called me that there was serious problem in the yard. So, I came and the whole place was filled with people with rifles, people who had come here to help us, the soldiers, police, civil defence, secret service and others.

    “What happened was that when they went into the yard to bath, the inmates in two cells of about 70 each, organized themselves and overpowered the prison staff and rushed to the armoury and seized the rifles there. They started firing at the staff. In that confusion, they broke other cells and the whole yard was filled with inmates. They carried what they could get to break the fence and create a hole in the fence.

    “For now, they have all been rounded up and nobody has escaped. A lot of people have been injured and one staff had been rushed to the hospital. Right now, the doctors with their teams are treating those injured. On deaths, it is the doctor that would ascertain that, because he is treating them.”

    He explained that the prison warders, with the help of the other security agents, responded with gunfire, leading several people being hurt in the ensuing melee.

    “Most of those injured are the inmates. Three of our staff were wounded and one was rushed to the hospital. There was no external invasion. It was an attempted jailbreak, and luckily, nobody escaped. The other security agencies helped us, especially the 13th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, because they stationed 10 solders here, morning and night and these are the ones that really helped us. They encircled the perimeter fence, as the inmates tried to come out of the hole, the soldiers were there and they could not come out.”

  • Jail breaks: Lawyers urge FG to rehabilitate prisons

    Jail breaks: Lawyers urge FG to rehabilitate prisons

    Some lawyers in Lagos on Monday urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate prisons in the country to prevent recurrent jail breaks.

    The lawyers, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, decried the deplorable state of most prisons in country, blaming this for the recent jail breaks.

    NAN reports that jail breaks were recently recorded in Lokoja, Ado-Ekiti and Minna in the months of November and December, respectively, thereby raising public concern.

    Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN) blamed the spate of jail breaks in the country on the long neglect by government of the prison system.

    According to him, the prisons were set up as rehabilitation centres and therefore deserve adequate attention of government.

    Fagbonhungbe said that most of the prisons were built many years ago and currently were populated beyond their capacity.

    “Some of these prisons have old structures and were built years ago with minimal capacity; but as time progressed, the number of criminal cases increased, and so also the same number of inmates.

    “The prison system has completely been abandoned by the government; they are overcrowded and the inmates are not given the necessary attention.

    “The prison structures in place are in a bad shape; a prison that was built for about 500 inmates now accommodates over 1,000 inmates.

    “There is no discipline in the prison; the warders are not motivated in terms of remuneration, and so, even the inmates give stipends to these warders who allow them have their way in custody.

    “It therefore follows that there is a need to rehabilitate the prison system to improve its standard.
    “There is also the need to relocate some prisons so as to cater for the growing population of inmates,’’ he said

    Fagbonhungbe said that it was imperative to separate convicted criminals from those awaiting trial, in a bid to avoid breeding more hardened inmates, and forestall incidences of jail breaks.
    “Although the prison is not a place of rest, it however requires certain minimum living standard for its inmates,” he said.

    In the same vein, another lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, urged magistrates to carry out routine visits to the prisons, and conduct summary trials for inmates charged with minor offences.

    He deplored the use of mobile phones by inmates in prison, contending that this was a major factor which enhanced jail breaks.

    “One of the worst things that have happened to our prison system is allowing prisoners use mobile telephone.

    “When you visit the prisons, you find these prisoners using telephone and that is why it is so easy for them to communicate with those with whom they plan these jail breaks.

    “In a bid to forestall these incidences, there is the need to ban the use of telephones in prisons and also modernise the prison to take care of security lapses.

    “Some of these prisons were constructed before the Second World War.

    “There is also a need to have more armed personnel guard the prisons; when you visit the prisons, you find few warders, and these can hardly stop any organised force from invading the prisons,’’ Etiaba said.

    According to him, there is also the need to decongest the prisons and ensure adequate consideration for the prison staff.

    “You find that in a prison with a capacity of 1,000 inmates, there are about 3,000 and out of this number about 97 per cent are awaiting trials.

    “So, if we must forestall jail breaks, there must be a decongestion of the prisons,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, Mr. Spurgeon Ataene, believes that jail breaks were an offshoot from the unpalatable condition of the prisons in the country.

    “There are dilapidated structures in the prisons and these structures have been there for several decades.

    “The prison system is supposed to be under the Federal Ministry of Interior, and so there should be budgetary allocation to expand and rehabilitate the prisons.

    “The use of phones by inmates in custody is one of the major causes of jail breaks in the country.

    “Some of these prisoners’ hatch their plans while in custody, through the use of these mobile phones.

    “if there are no telecommunication system for these prisoners, how can they hatch such plans in custody?

    “I think these inmates are being over indulged by the warders, and this should be a source of concern,’’ he said.
    Ataene, therefore, called on the government, to put in place adequate measures to reposition the prison system in the country

     

  • DSS jailbreak

    DSS jailbreak

    There are serious unanswered questions

    Notwithstanding the fact that there are conflicting accounts of what happened at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters on March 30, one thread that runs through all is the breach of security as a result of institutional lapses in the facility. The official account, as given by Marilyn Ogar, DSS’s spokeswoman, was that there was an attempted jailbreak when one of the suspects in the facility attempted to disarm one of the DSS officers who had gone to give the suspects food. According to Ogar, “One of the suspects attempted to disarm him by hitting him at the back of his head with his handcuff”.

    His attempt to escape drew the attention of other guards at the facility that fired some shots to warn and deter others.” By the time the dust settled, 21 of the inmates were killed with others, including security personnel, injured.

    There are other versions, though. But even if we accept the official account as the gospel truth, there are still questions that have to be answered. What is the normal procedure for serving the suspects food? Did the officer who took food to them before he was allegedly attacked enter the room where the suspects were kept? How convenient would it have been for the suspect who hit him with handcuff to have done that if the normal procedure had been followed? What camaraderie could have existed between an officer overseeing inmates and the inmates that would have warranted opening the prison door to give the detainees food? These and many more questions are begging for answers.

    While we await the result of the investigation that the DSS authorities said they had instituted into the sad incident, it is important to say that the official story does not add up. We cannot accept that as the authentic account of what happened, especially as the place is supposed to be highly secured given its proximity to the seat of power. As a matter of fact, that was said to be the basis for keeping the suspects there in the first place.

    We cannot treat with levity a matter that roused Reuben Abati, the presidential spokesman, to deny reports that President Goodluck Jonathan was whisked away during the attempted jailbreak and shootout. According to Abati, “It was an attempted jailbreak. Those arrested tried to make an attempt to escape, but the situation was immediately and effectively brought under control. We will want to reassure everyone that really there is no cause for alarm.”

    Definitely, the last has not been heard of the matter. Could there have been internal collusion? If intelligence is this problematic even at the DSS Headquarters, how do we trust the intelligence from other areas of its operations, in the area of the enemy and in Borno State, for examples? If Boko Haram or other insurgents could so easily threaten our DSS headquarters, it is a dangerous signal to the terrorists that with a little more effort, there is nowhere they cannot penetrate. Already, Britain has advised its nationals in Abuja to be mindful of their movements in the federal capital. We will not be surprised if other countries follow suit.

    Without prejudice to whatever the outcome of the DSS probe will be, the security breach at the facility is a big minus for confidence in government’s security arrangements. A sect that had killed more than 1,000 persons and displaced no fewer than 250,000 others in the first three months of this year alone is capable of doing anything and nothing should be left to chances concerning its members.

    Nonetheless, we await the outcome of that investigation.

  • Akure jailbreak is dangerous, says Lagos Assembly

    Lagos State House of Assembly has decried the bombing of Olokuta Maximum Security Prison in Akure, Ondo State and the unlawful release of about 175 inmates by unknown gunmen on Sunday.

    Speaking on behalf of the assembly yesterday, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Segun Olulade, described the incident as a dangerous signal to the country and another black spot on the country’s image.

    He added that more disturbing situations might occur if the Federal Government fails to take drastic measures to tighten security.

    According to Olulade, the alarming security situation in the country calls for innovations that are unprecedented.

    The lawmaker stressed that the Ondo State incident showed that many arms and ammunition were in circulation in the country, and not only in the North.

    He said the pervading culture of impunity in government circle, endemic corruption and high poverty level among the people should be blamed for the criminal activities.

    Olulade urged the police and other security agencies to conduct investigation into the jailbreak and ensure that all the re-arrested inmates and hoodlums are brought to book.