Juliana Francis
Some members of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), comprising of seasoned men and men who had covered the security beat for years, have expressed their opinions, not just about the Kuje Prison Attack of 5th July 2022, but also about the escalating insecurity in the country.
The President of the association, Mr. Lekan Olabulo, described the attack on Kuje Prison as “alarming,” and added that it was an indicator that nowhere was safe in Nigeria.
He further said: “The Kuje Correctional Centre is believed to be the safest in Nigeria, and if terrorists can overrun it, where can’t they then attack? The terrorists have demystified Kuje Prison security and the implication is that they can just go anywhere in Nigeria, to release whoever they want to. The only way to checkmate the reoccurrence of such an attack is to completely overhaul the security architecture in the country. Questions should be asked about lapses. In the past, we have not heard anything about the outcome of investigations into such attacks. There should be thorough investigations into the breach of security. Those who are supposed to be responsible should be made to answer. The security agencies should also deploy non-kinetic ways of fighting insecurity. They should involve intelligence gathering.”
The publisher of Chief Detective magazine and founder and newsmaker, of an online newspaper, Mr. Dipo Kehinde, opined that the Kuje Prison attack showed the complicity and complacency of security agencies and the federal authorities.
His words: “It simply shows the Complicity or complacency of our security agencies and the federal authorities. With all the huge investments in security, in trillions of naira, how can some ragtag bandits on motorcycles move into the safest enclave of the nation’s capital city and commit such heinous crime in broad daylight unchallenged? The solution is in having the right leadership, and our willpower to end these atrocious crimes collectively.”
A former president of the association, Christopher Oji, expressed disappointment with the manner of loping high profile and hardened inmates inside the same prison.
He said: “It was wrong to have placed high-profile inmates and hardened criminals inside Kuje Prison. Secondly, the attack at the centre of government and releasing of inmates showed that there is something seriously wrong with our security architecture. We are in trouble! It shows that our security system has collapsed to an embarrassing stage. This is a shame! What were our security agencies, especially the Department of State Services (DSS) doing? If the seat of power is no longer safe, where then is safe?”
Oji added that the releasing of hardened criminals, portends serious security danger and threat to residents of Abuja and its’ environs, stressing that the crime rate would soon escalate at FCT.
He also noted: “These criminals, especially kidnappers, armed robbers, and murderers will resume work immediately. Don’t forget that many of them ran to the same place they had their enclaves; they’ll form formidable gangs and return to the society.”
Oji stated that the solution to the galloping insecurity in Nigeria was for the government to build more prisons and separate prison inmates.
He said: “The success of the attack has exposed the inadequacy and incompetency of our prison wardens. For instance, they don’t have the manpower, equipment, and logistics to deal with jailbreaks, let alone to handle attacks on the facility. The government should as a matter of urgency order our security agencies to go after the fleeing inmates and bring them back. A joint security task force should be constituted immediately to man our prisons across the country. The porous nature of our borders should be investigated.
“I recommend aerial patrol of our borders by a joint security patrol team, to be headed by Defence. The government should consider state police so that the states will be empowered to equip their police, which will be able to confront such attackers. After all, the police are being sponsored by state governments.”
Oji thinks that the federal government had been paying lip service to issues relating to security. He urged the government to stop deceiving its citizens and endeavour to be on top of security situations.
He also noted: “The government should stop reactionary tactics. The government, should, through its security agencies, especially the intelligence sections, be proactive in gathering intelligence, with the aim of nipping crimes in the bud. Some people claimed that they got information that terrorists were planning to attack the prison, and passed it to security agencies, yet shockingly nothing was done to avert it! Also, if members of the public know they can trust security agencies, they’ll give out information. When information is given, security agencies should not treat it with kid gloves. They should act swiftly to avert dangers.”
According to Oji, security agencies should synergies and remember that they were being paid through taxpayers’ money.
“Nobody care who does what if the system is working. I will advise members of the public to always say something when they see something. The National Orientation Agency should also do an enlightenment campaign to sensitise the public on how to pass information anonymously. The agency should educate people on what to do when certain things occurred or how to. The government should sit up or terrorists will continue to take over the country. The Kuje Prison attack has exposed Nigeria to the world, and some countries like America, have warned their citizens to be conscious of Nigeria as its insecurity was increasing to an uncontrollable stage. The government should do something drastic and declare real war on terrorists as investors are leaving the country daily.”
A veteran crime reporter, now a security analyst, Mr. Folorusho Attah, said: “Unfortunate as that prison attack may be, the attack shows the security lapses in the country. We pray there are no external aggressions over us. In a civilised clime, the Minister of Interior Affairs would have resigned or sacked, but here anything goes. The only solution to the future occurrence is that those in charge must be held responsible. They must be dealt with decisively. Let sanctions be taken against the coordinating officials in the ministry, and prisons operatives, be they junior or at the top cadre, to serve as a deterrent to others.”
A foremost crime reporter, who is the General Manager of Raypower Radio and founder of Now Against Drug Abuse, a nongovernmental organisation, Mrs. Yewande Iwuoha, described the situation as tragic and saddening.
She said: “It’s a further reflection and confirmation of a failed structure and system. More so, gross negligence on the part of the correctional service and the ministry of interior. How do you explain to the whole world that in this age of infotech we don’t have a surveillance system installed at correctional centres nationwide? Whatever happened to intelligence gathering? All the prison reform recommendations have continued to remain on papers and buried in dust on the shelves. Obviously, the various centres are congested, especially for awaiting trial inmates. The structures are dilapidated and the security network is largely poor. I have raised this same issue and discussed it with the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, PRAWA, on Monday. Until we address these major issues, security would continue to be compromised at the nation’s correctional centres. By the way, some people need to take responsibility for the monumental failure. Major issues to be addressed to prevent the reoccurrence of attack and jailbreak are decongestion of the various centres, where awaiting trial inmates account for more than 70 per cent of the population. Government should ensure speedy dispensation of justice and prisons should be sited in isolated areas far away from residential areas. Security should be beefed up with a modern surveillance system. There is also a need to improve on the welfare of inmates and ensure skills acquisition.”
Another ace crime reporter, who doubles as the Head of Police Affairs and Defence Desk Editor, The Nation Newspaper, Precious Igbonwelundu, said the Kuje Prison incident was unfortunate, adding that jailbreaks and attacks on prisons in Nigeria had become a recurring decimal.
She said that she could not fathom how a bunch of terrorists could just storm the seat of power and take over the prison.
She said: “It is high time we started overhauling our complete security architecture. It is more alarming that the government never thought of doubling security at Kuje Prison, where they kept 64 very high-ranking commanders of Boko Haram. It is disappointing that we do not have CCTV around, at least 200 metres from the prison facility. The attack shows that our security architecture is either complicit or not up and doing. Are we saying that our security agents never got the intel, right from when this bunch of terrorists was planning the attack, to when they executed it, from the time they left their location, wherever that is, to the prison and operated for that long? And then if it’s true that soldiers who were stationed at the prison left 24 hours before the attack, then there is more to it than meet the eyes.”
Igbonwelundu said that the solution to the present and past issues of insecurity was for everyone to wake up to their duties. According to her, some people were still seeing security as a business and a Cash cow.
“For them, the more it thrives, the more they make money. It’s about time we start letting heads roll. It’s enough of saying, ‘it’s unfortunate.’ And ‘there will be an investigation.’ And after that, nothing would be done, and it becomes a vicious circle. It’s time to start holding people accountable. Let people know that there will be consequences for failing at their jobs. Until that is done, I don’t see an end to this ravaging insecurity. Imagine 64 Boko Haram commanders escaping from prison. What is the fate of the informants that led to their arrest? What happens to the rest of society? what happens to the journalists that wrote stories about them? What happened to the security agents that arrested them? It’s troubling and by the time they leave FCT to other parts of the country, we’ll keep having chaos upon chaos. We can’t continue like this. We are running the country on autopilot. We are behaving as if the country is no man’s land,” said Igbonwelundu.
She also stated that another fundamental issue was that the police should be armed, and the necessary equipment given to them.
She said: “The police have a larger population than the military. The police should be funded adequately and then allow to be at the front burner of doing their jobs of protecting internal security. In the past 10 years that we have handed over to the military, the military has not done much. We keep hearing stories of soldiers being supporters of Boko Haram, soldiers being informants to terrorists, and soldiers being involved in fish farming. All kinds of funny stories. It is also high time that the military went back to the barracks. There is the question of how the terrorists got the sophisticated weapons they used to attack the Kuje Prison. Where did they get those military weapons? The police and other security agencies should be equipped and given their marching orders and if they then fail, heads should roll. If people failed at their jobs, they should be sacked, and if these measures are taken, then in no time this whole madness will fizzle out and Nigeria will regain its rightful place in the comity of nations and Nigerians can then sleep with their eyes closed.”
Igbonwelundu also stated that the Nigerian politicians were most culpable in the insecurity troubles bedeviling the country. She stated that several billions of dollars had been borrowed for arms procurement, “but who checks these purchases and who goes out to buy them? And where do these weapons end? For instance, this Police Trust Fund… I just read somewhere that politicians will collect this money, and buy substandard helmets, and bulletproof vests with no bulletproofing. It is ridiculous, the things we do in this country. If we are serious and honest to curb this insecurity, politicians need to get their hands off the purchase of equipment for security agencies. The experts, who use these weapons, know the range and also know what they need to defeat these terrorists. Allow the experts to test the range, and efficacy of the equipment, test everything they need so that when they buy it and come back when they used it, and they are not giving us results, we will then not accept excuses, and then they should be held accountable. But in a situation where politicians go to buy these items, they’ll want to have a cut and then end up supply substandard equipment.”
