Inmates escape as rainstorm destroys correctional centre in Nigeria

Some inmates have escaped from the old Suleja Correctional Centre in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State after a rainstorm destroyed parts of the facility Wednesday night.

Sources in Suleja said the storm during heavy rainfall destroyed parts of the custodial centre around 9 p.m., allowing many inmates to escape from the facility.

The rainstorm destroyed parts of the prison building and exposed the inner fence protecting one of the cells where inmates were kept.

A resident of Suleja town confirming the incident said: “We helped to arrest two of the inmates and handed them over to the prison authorities.”

It was learnt that security agents have been deployed to blackspots in Suleja in search of the fleeing inmates.

Meanwhile, it was observed that security had been beefed up on the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including the Madalla axis of the Minna-Abuja road.

The state’s Comptroller of Prisons could not be immediately reached for his reaction, but a senior officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists, confirmed the development.

By Maimuna Raji Egigogo, Premium Times

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Nigerians spend 8 to 13 years in prison without trial in Nigeria

Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF), also known as Lawyers Without Borders, has lamented the growing number of Nigerians held in prison for years without trial.

The organisation said it was, specifically, concerned that a lot of Nigerians have spent eight to 13 years in prison without trial, noting that it rescued about eight of such people from Kirikiri Prison, Lagos State.

In a report it issued to mark end of the Severe Human Rights Violations in Nigeria (SAFE) intervention, which it launched in Abuja, since 2019, the group said it was equally worried about the increasing cases of torture and extra-judicial killings in the country.

The project is being implemented in Nigeria by ASF France, in partnership with Nigerian Bar Association, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation, and European Union.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, yesterday, Head of Office of ASF France (in Nigeria), Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, lamented that despite promulgation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in 2015, security agencies have continued to use torture as a strategy to extract extra-judicial statements from suspects.

In a report it issued to mark end of the Severe Human Rights Violations in Nigeria (SAFE) intervention, which it launched in Abuja, since 2019, the group said it was equally worried about the increasing cases of torture and extra-judicial killings in the country.

The project is being implemented in Nigeria by ASF France, in partnership with Nigerian Bar Association, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation, and European Union.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, yesterday, Head of Office of ASF France (in Nigeria), Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, lamented that despite promulgation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in 2015, security agencies have continued to use torture as a strategy to extract extra-judicial statements from suspects.

“On the project, 167 cases were identified for pro-bono legal aid, of which 120 were approved for litigation and 47 were approved for legal advice. These are cases of victims of torture, arbitrary detention and extra-judicial killings across the project states.

“We took charge of 267 cases of human rights violations across three states (Enugu, Kaduna and Lagos) and we have concluded about 40 cases, and more than 20 people have been released from custody. We, equally, filed three suits before the ECOWAS Court. We also secured the unconditional release of 23 persons that were arbitrarily detained.”

The Guardian, by Sodiq Omolaoye

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Nigeria Recaptures 108 Inmates After Prison Outbreak

At least 108 out of 240 inmates who escaped from a prison in central Nigeria have been recaptured, a prison official said Tuesday.

Heavily armed gunmen stormed the Security Custodial Centre in Kabba, in Kogi State, late on Sunday, freeing scores of inmates.

It was unclear who the gunmen were but criminal gangs have terrorized central and northwest Nigeria for years.

“We have a total of 108 inmates rearrested,” Nigeria’s correctional service spokesman Francis Enobore told AFP by phone.

“But as the day progresses, the figure will definitely increase,” he added, saying “several processes have been activated to ensure all inmates are rearrested.”

At about 2245 GMT on Sunday, the spokesman had said earlier in a statement, numerous attackers “engaged the armed guards in a fierce gun battle.”

The gunmen invaded the prison, which had 294 prisoners in custody at the time, including 224 pre-trial detainees.

A soldier and a police officer lost their lives in the attack, Enobore later added.

Large prison outbreaks are not uncommon in Nigeria.

On April 5, gunmen raided Owerri police headquarters, in Nigeria’s southern Imo state, freeing more than 1,800 inmates.

In addition to fighting criminal gangs who also kidnap people for ransom and rustle cattle, Nigeria’s security forces are facing a violent jihadist insurgency in the northeast and separatist agitation in the southeast.

The Defense Post 

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