Soni Daniel,Northern Region Editor

Ja’afaru Ahmed is a simple man by nature. On the surface, he appears as someone who cannot hurt a fly. That humane mien is borne out of the simple fact that he rarely talks and, if there is any reason for him to make a speech, that would be done formally. The current Controller-General of the Nigeria Prison Service, who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, is a man of few words but a firm believer in delivering the goods.   His ascension to the peak of the NPS did not come to many, who are familiar with the service, as a surprise.

He has been part of the NPS for about three decades and has a good grasp of the working of all the key sectors of the NPS and was already standing on a solid pedestal by the time President Muhammadu Buhari tapped him for the top post in 2015. Given his pedigree and exposure to the reformatory system in Nigeria and elsewhere, Ja’afar Ahmed can be described as a bureaucrat, who truly understands the intricacy of the vulnerable job that many would not dare to ply.

But for him, since joining the service from the Kebbi State in 1989, Ahmed has held many key posts in the NPS, thereby, making him one of the most suitable to man the affairs of the Nigerian Prisons Service.   Among the posts which he had held before being named as the head of the NPS in Nigeria, wereOfficer in charge, Birnin Kebbi Old Prison; Officer in charge Kano Central Prison; Controller of Prisons (Admin); Controller of Prisons, Sokoto State Command; Controller of Prisons, Kebbi State Command; Assistant Controller General of Prisons (Admin) at the National Headquarters; Zonal Coordinator, Zone A Headquarters, Lagos and Deputy Controller General of Prisons (Admin) covering duties   at the National Headquarters, Abuja.

At the time he took over the mantle of leadership, the NPS had become synonymous with jailbreaks and a high level of indiscipline while the morale of the workers had plummeted with despondency and hopelessness hanging boldly on their faces. In fact, before he came on board, the frequency of jailbreak had become so rampant that many Nigerians began to lose faith with the agency.

Like every Nigerian malaise, the problem was well known but the political will to confront it headlong and put an end to it was lacking. From North to South, East to West, jailbreak had taken a top spot in the affairs of the NPS and the rhetoric question was when and which station would be the next target.

Of all the contributing factors to jailbreak, staff trafficking, compromise and weak structures, such as buildings housing inmates topped the list. Upon assumption of duties, Ahmed armed with his full understanding of the system and his experience on the job, decided to confront the forces that were aiding and abetting jailbreak.

First, he caused to be sacked all the culprits who had been leaking information to criminals to have unhindered access to the prisons and free inmates with ease. In one fell swoop, no fewer than 23 of such complicit senior officials were taken off the employ of the NPS barely a year after the assumption of duty of the NPS CG in 2016. The recommendation for their dismissal subsequently upheld and approved by the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board, was for their complicity in the escape of prisoners from many prisons in the country. Shortly after that, the NPS Controller General approved the dismissal of another set of 17 junior officers who were serving at the Kuje Medium Prison and the Koton Karfe Prison in Kogi State for aiding and abetting the escape of dangerous inmates.

On November 27, 2017, the NPS CG fired another batch of eight recalcitrant prisons officers for various offences bordering on conspiracy, drug trafficking and taking phones to the cells to assist inmates to escape with ease. Among those shown the way out, were one  Jatau and   Motta Yari who were sent packing for trafficking in mobile phones while Mo Isah, Saleh   Dan, Gusau Umari, Mo Ali, Ibra Said and Maiku Mah were fired for taking India hemp and other intoxicating substances and prohibited items to the prisons.

Talking tough on the dismissal, Ahmed warned,  “The Controller General wishes to assure all officers and men of the Nigerian Prisons Service of his readiness to support and encourage hard work and dedication to duty but frowns at acts of negligence capable of embarrassing the Service and the nation at large.

“While appreciating the collaboration of security agencies, vigilante groups and members of the public for their support, the Controller General further assures that all necessary measures are being put in place to guarantee maximum security of persons in prison custody.”

Looking back at the drastic drop in jailbreaks after the wave of dismissal of key accomplices, the CG speaks on why he swooped on the culprits and what he is doing to prevent frequent jailbreaks in Nigeria.

“We took action in the sense that staff had in the past committed serious offences but were never punished. We said it should no longer be the case, and that anyone who commits any offence must be promptly brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others in accordance with the law.

“From all the reports of jailbreaks and escape of inmates, it was clear to us that there were many cases of laxity on the part of our staff and we had to move immediately to deal with that attitude in order to save the system from further exploitation.

“We punished the offenders adequately. We also discovered that we need more hands to work in the prisons. We have made our request to the appropriate quarters in that regard and we expect that we will add more hands soon,” Ahmed said.

Explaining further, Ahmed described trafficking as the taking of information in and out of the prisons without authority or taking of cell phones and other things, passing information or unauthorized items to and from the prisons, thereby compromising standards of operations.

He blamed the Koton Karfi jailbreak on a fast trick played by the inmates, which took the officers unawares.

“Let me cite an example: the Koton Karfi episode happened because the prisoners were able to enter the cell with a 2×4 timber which they used in hitting the wall repeatedly and it collapsed. That happened because the wall was made of hollow blocks.

“Secondly, the jailbreak occurred because they prisoners were hitting the walls and drumming away as if one of them was about to leave the cell the following day. It is traditional for inmates to ‘organise a party’ for someone who is to be discharged the next day. And because it was raining heavily, the officers on duty thought it was the normal drumming with bowls and other items for those leaving the following day, not suspecting that the inmates were actually opening the walls with a plank.

“In the end, they were able to break open the walls through which 13 of the prisoners escaped,” he revealed.

But the several jailbreaks have taught the prison service vital lessons, which Ahmed says will help him to make the place stronger and better and prevent such occurrence now and in the future. The lesson is to change prison structures from wood and mud to superior more durable and resistant materials to construct prisons across the land. That way, Nigerian prisons may become the best among their counterparts in Africa.

Overall, Ahmed is happy with the steps he has so far taken to breathe life into the prisons and make the inmates to feel that they are part of the society.

The CG boasts: “I have been able to intervene in barracks accommodation. If you see the barracks you would know that human beings are not supposed to stay there and we have started intervening in it to make it more comfortable for the staff.

“We are providing uniforms free for junior staff, something they have been paying for in the past. I am kitting them from beret to their shoes to make them work with a sense of pride and confidence.

“We are making promotions more regular to those who are due. They have just taken the examination for the 2017 promotions and I am sure very soon the result will be out before the year runs out. I have given them the opportunity of training and retraining and we have been prompt in paying them their welfare allowances as well as prisons insurance.

One thing is uppermost on the mind of the CG: “When I look back after leaving this seat, I want to leave a prison service that is truly performing its mandate of secure and humane custody with a dedicated, well trained and highly motivated workforce and a prison service that will be a pride to Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”