THE reported relocation of detained Boko Haram suspects from the northern part of the country to the South-East Ekwulobia Prison in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, has continued to generate controversy. The alleged prison transfer has caused panic and protests  in the commercial city of Awka, Onitsha and other major cities of the state as  many businesses and markets were closed down.

To begin with, the protesters believe that there is no justifiable  reasons for the transfer of the prisoners from far away north, where they were arrested to a local prison because their presence would create tension and fear and that such prisoners should rather be confined to the states where they committed crimes or to other states with maximum prisons. They feared that previous Boko Haram attacks, which have ravaged many parts of the north could be imported to the state due to the presence of the inmates.

Secondly, it has been argued that the transfer would amount to security risk as sending such prisoners to a local facility with porous security apparatus could lead to a jail break. The Ekwulobia Prison, though not classified as a maximum security prison, originally has  the capacity to house 85 inmates, is said to be presently overburdened with 135 inmates. Hence, adding more inmates  would over-stretch the prison with dangerous consequences such as a high possibility for the radicalisation of other inmates by the Boko Haram members. Unlike other locations  where the terror-convicts were held in sparsely populated areas which makes  isolation easy, Ekwulobia is a densely populated town, meaning that in the event ofa jail break, there  is the high risk of contact between the radicalised prisoners and civilian population.

Thirdly, some antagonists of the transfer feel that the decision was simply borne out of political reasons. Although Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State had announced that the transfer was perfected in 2012 under Governor Peter Obi and that the transfer would have been carried out immediately but for the last general elections. But former Governor Peter Obi had denied Obiano’s claims.

Fourthly, religious groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has equally condemned the transfer while socio-political organisations such as the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), have joined others in rejecting the relocation claiming that the transfer was as a result of the alleged backing by some foreign Islamic religious leaders to stifle its struggle for the actualisation of its main objectives.

While the government has not really been too categorical on its stance on the alleged transfer, protagonists of the  move are of the view that both the plan and choice of the South-East are okay since Ekwulobia is far from the epicentre of the insurgency in the North as the sect members would be prevented from accessing the society where they could easily be re-indoctrinated or regrouped.

From the concerns and fears raised by people and groups on the relocation, the one that seems to bother me most is that bordering on security coupled with the deteriorating prison conditions and reformation process. Global experience has shown that terrorists and terror suspects are always kept in strongly, fortified and isolated places such as the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp where the United States government keeps high-risk suspects in a military facility that is located away from the people. Unfortunately, Ekwulobia Prisons does not in anyway fit into this category.

It is only hoped that with the transfer, may a  jail break not occur.

The incessant cases of jail breaks and the need to reform our prisons call for urgent concern as  they undermine the dispensation of justice. Just in October 2014, there was a report of prisoners’ mutiny and jail break at the Kirikiri Medium Prison, Lagos that led to the death of scores of prisoners and recapture of escaped inmates. Also, about 20 inmates escaped from the Sagamu Prison, Ogun State while on November 3, 2014, the Koton-Karfe Prison, Kogi State, played host to suspected Boko Haram insurgents, who freed 144 prisoners. On December 6, 2014, about 6 armed men reportedly attacked the Medium Prison in Minna, Niger State, which led to the escape of 270 inmates, having broken into the prison armoury, carting away arms and bullet proof vests. A week earlier, armed men were said to have invaded the Federal Prison, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State causing 320 out of the 442 inmates to escape, among several cases.

Nigeria has a total of 239 prisons, housing 56,785 inmates while those awaiting trial are 38,743. Prison is on the exclusive legislative list and so the Federal Government has complete control over prisons. Regrettably, common features of these facilities are dilapidation, congestion, insufficient personnel and vulnerability to attacks. The Nigerian prison system, which is modeled after the colonial prison administration, is overtly punitive rather than the modern functions for correction, reformation, transformation, re-integration and rehabilitation.

To say the least, many inmates live in horrible conditions that are subhuman.Given the inhuman conditions a prisoner would not   think  twice  to make good an escape. The failure of the prison authorities to secure the nation’s prisons often leads to why armed assailants easily attack the jails and release convicts. To stem the  tide, there is urgent need to fast-track the ongoing prison reforms such that our apparent compromised criminal justice system. Appropriate authorities should, therefore, design better ways of stopping the indiscriminately dumping of suspects in cells and abandon them without trial.

The reported moves by the Federal Government in deploying soldiers to guard the Ekwulobia prison, which ordinarily is guarded by prison guards, personnel and wardens, shows  that the government is aware of the very high security implication of the purported relocation. It is when these sustainable mechanisms, as discussed, are put in place that genuine relocation of prisoners from one jail to another can be justified and frayed nerves calmed

as they defecate, urinate in their cells, are poorly fed and lack basic health care. The prisoner in the nation’s prison, given the inhuman conditions,

– that tends to weigh heavily against the poor and the weak – is swiftly corrected. Cases that ought to have been disposed of expeditiously are still being adjourned for long periods of time. Also, tough bail conditions and unwarranted detention of suspects for minor offences that should ordinarily be handled at police stations, end up being clamped down into the prison.

These citizens, whose liberty have been abridged by such actions, still have rights protected by international protocols such as the Geneva Conventions, UN Convention against Torture and International Convention on Civil and Political Rights as well as the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, which forbid any form of brutality or indignities against them. Finally, the government should ensure that adequate budgetary allocation is provided for the prisons. Segregation of suspects based on the type of crimes they are suspected of committing should be practiced rather than lumping hardened criminals with awaiting tail suspects. Building of prisons in populated centres that are close to the highways should be halted. Corrupt prison officials should be fished-out and punished.

Adewale Kupoluyi writes from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), [email protected], @AdewaleKupoluyi, adewalekupoluyi.blogspot.com