BETWEEN November 2 and December 6, criminals struck at prisons in Koton Karfe, Kogi State, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State and Minna, Niger State, leading to escape of 695 convicted criminals. A similar break in Akure last year, freed 175 criminals.

Before Akure there have been jail breaks in Ibadan, Warri, Bauchi, Kano, Abuja (at the anti-robbery detention centre), and Port Harcourt. We had stated then that the warning Akure signaled should not be ignore. It was ignored.

The latest break let loose various calibres of convicts and those still waiting trial, ranging from armed robbers, kidnappers, murderers, terrorists, ritualists, rapists and members of secrets cults booked for a date with justice into open society at a time of high security concerns. Gallant efforts at maintaining law and order and huge public resources expended to control crime went to waste within hours.

A jail break is at one of the highest points of organised criminality. Its consequences depend on the criminals involved and their motives. These indicate the failure of the authorities to realise the importance of securing convicts. There is still a high tendency of dismissing the schemes criminals plot even while in jail. The reactions after jail breaks had been to descend on the prison authorities for embarrassing government, though prisons are at the lowest rungs for budgetary allocations. Security at prisons reflects the unimportance accorded prisons.

Poorly armed warders, who can easily be over powered, manage prison security. The alertness of warders, the numbers deployed to secure the facilities, and the equipment at their disposal make jail breaks easier. The authorities who know these do nothing about them, except regurgitating practised rage after each break.

However, criminals cannot make successful prison breaks without insider information, and other assistance. How did they know the type of equipment they required to blast the walls? They were obviously aware of types of arms warders bore, and possibly how many warders were on duty.

Armed with such information, the criminals knew what to do. The fact that they could operate without interruption should bother the authorities. When will we improve security at prisons? When would modern security gargets that could foil attacks be installed? When would intelligence be at heights that conniving prison officials can be fished out before they do more harm?

The Federal Government must arrest the situation by fortifying prisons. Compromised officials should be prosecuted, and dedicated ones rewarded. Government must also explore modern options for effective prison management, including state and local government prisons, as well as privately-managed correctional services.

Criminals should never be in doubt about society’s ability to put them where they rightly belong and keep our people safe.