By Charles Kumolu

Hananiya Abasiya (not real name) is not a conventional prison officer. Although he was posted  to Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons,  he was forbidden  from entering  the prison yard.

It may sound unbelievable but that is the true story. He is not statutorily permitted to enter the prison yard.
Abasiya is a Prisons Arms Guard, who unlike the typical warder is armed and trained on arms usage to guard the prisons and suppress violent uprisings within the system.

Violent uprising

For him and his colleagues and  other men of the Nigerian army who were stationed in front of the Maximum Security Prisons,  October 10, 2014, started like every other day until about 5pm when their presence inside the yard became inevitable.

It was a situation that needed the Arms Squad, hence Abasiya and his colleagues quickly dashed into the prison facility. The scenario inside was riotous prompting them to release gunshots and tear gas as well as unleash sniffer dogs among other measures to bring the situation under control.

The prisoners had revolted against the system leading to the ensuing commotion which led to the death of unspecified number of prisoners, who had attempted to escape as a result of the melee.

It was gathered that the prisoners went violent for what they termed the consistent withholding of items supposedly belonging to inmates by the Deputy Comptroller of Prison in charge of the Kirikiri Prison, DCP, Mr. Kayode Odeyemi.

Inspite of this, the government account suggested that inmates only protested against unfavourable conditions.

Specifically, blame for the incident was placed at the door step of an inmate who violated the prison rules and incited his colleagues.
The Kirikiri incident did not happen in isolation as there were many that preceded it, even as many more had taken place since the October incident last year.

In February, 2014, Koton Karfe Prisons in Kogi State was attacked by armed men, resulting in the escape of 119 inmates. The gunmen used dynamite to blast open the walls of the prison, though 43 were said to have been rearrested.

The Edo State Command of the service also had its share in April of the same year when an attempt was made to  free inmates being conveyed to Oko Medium prison from court in Benin, Edo State.

The suspects had trailed the two Vehicles  conveying the inmates from court along Sapele Road to Airport Road where they were stopped from overtaking the vehicles conveying the suspects.

Eighteen inmates who were being  conveyed by the Green Maria were high profile inmates whose offences range from robbery to kidnapping.

On the heels of that, came an assault on Ekiti Prisons, which led to the escape of no fewer than 320 inmates.

Koton Karfi jailbreak

The 60-man squad who stormed the facility at 10.30pm, it was gathered arrived in Hilux trucks, armed with dangerous weapons, such as cudgels, cutlasses, AK 47 rifles and charms.

The gang was said to have employed the use of dynamite to bomb the main gate before they gained entrance into the prisons yard. They equally killed all the 20 sniffer dogs tied in front of the gate.

Barely a week after, no fewer than 270 inmates of the Minna Medium Prison, Niger State, escaped on December 6, 2014 after an attack by gunmen.

The incident occurred about 4 p.m when convicts were released to take a stroll within the prison yard. Following the attack, 270 of the 323 inmates were said to have escaped.

Weapons and bullet proof vests

Three members of the gang dressed in long flowing gowns were said to have disarmed the Prison officials, broke into the record room, armoury room and carted away some weapons and bullet-proof vests.

It was also gathered that the gunmen were close to 20 and divided themselves into groups. Some of the gunmen took strategic positions round about the facility while the 10-minute invasion lasted.

Before the incidents recorded last year, similar attacks took place in Maiduguri, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Benin among others.
Indeed, deadly jailbreaks are not new occurrences in the country. But  opinions are presently not divided that it has taken a dangerous twist this past year.

In the last five years, Vanguard Features,VF, found out that nearly 3000 prisoners have escaped as a result of jailbreaks and attacks.
Supporting that in a piece titled: Nigeria Reveals Wave of Jailbreaks, the BBC said: ‘’More than 2,000 prisoners have escaped over the past five years in Nigeria, officials say, mainly as a result of attacks on jails by the Islamist militant Boko Haram group. Almost 500 prisoners escaped in the city of Maiduguri in 2009. A total of 2,251 prisoners have got away and most of them are still at large, officials say.’’

The rise in prison attacks is unarguably at a critical point, where so many questions and groundswell anger have come up.

Government’s reactions

People are particularly saddened that each time such thing occurs, the responses from the Federal Government often fall below exceptions.
So weak and empty are the government’s reactions to these, that the confidence of the people regarding its capability to curb the menace is now reducing.

Findings showed that apart from calling for an investigation into the circumstances that led to the  invasion, ‘nothing more concrete had been done to find those responsible for the incidents.

On that matter, the government had particularly asked the then acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Prisons Service, NPS, Mr.  Aminu Sulley, to investigate and explain within two weeks how a sizeable number of AK47 rifles got into the prison and why the only sanction meted on the erring officer was a mere transfer.

“A situation whereby it is established that a prison officer connived with external forces to take a sizeable number of AK47 into the prison and the only sanctions you can give to such officer is to transfer him is sad; and so, acting CG, I want you to investigate that matter and report back to me within two weeks,” Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro had said on the issue.

Eight months after, VF can authoritatively state no other word has been heard about the probe.

The same step has also been taken on the Ekiti incident, where a panel of inquiry was set up to uncover those behind the attack.

“At the moment I don’t want to attribute the occurrence in Ado Ekiti prison to some conspiracy theory or attack by insurgents. We will get to the root of these attacks through a multi-sectional investigative panel  put in place to find out the culpability or otherwise of those suspected to be involved and when we are through we will appropriately inform the Nigeria public,”Moro said during the commissioning of 12 convenience rooms built by United Bank For Africa, UBA, for Ikoyi Passport office of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

For most Nigerians, the situation calls for urgent actions  considering the far reaching implications of the trend.

National emergency

President Joint Action for Social Justice, JSJ, Comrade Deji Adebola told VF that the trend should be treated as a national emergency, adding that the prisons are now at the mercy of invaders.

‘’A situation where a prison facility that is meant to house dangerous and convicted people, becomes a place where people can invade successfully at will, then there is so much danger in the country. It confirms that there is no security anywhere,’’ he noted.

‘’What we have seen so far is an exposition of the workings of the security operatives in the country. All the various security agencies suffer from acute incapability, occasioned by lack of training and inadequate personnel. The government must act fast now. There is no other time than now else we will loose grip on the affairs of the nation.’’

Further investigation by VF among the personnel of the NPS, confirmed some of the fears raised by Adebola.
A staff who pleaded anonymity told this reporter that some of the incidents are not often jailbreaks, adding that many were external attacks.

‘’We are at a critical point. Criminals and hoodlums no longer have regard for the system. The weak points in the service have become exposed to the extent that attacks are carried out on the prisons at will. We lack the equipment required to forestal such attacks. The attackers carry more sophisticated weapons.So it would be suicidal for us to face them,” he stated.

Continuing, he said, ‘’We the Arms men, need more training on handling of sophisticated weapons. Soldiers have been drafted to support us, but that is not enough. Latest weapons should be provided because the types of crime we contend with is unlike in the past. Our men should not be expected to guard the prisons that house terrorists and other types of criminals with light weapons.

Payment of leave allowance

If we are well positioned for this, the attacks would no longer take place. Our morale is also low. The nation is also aware of that of the soldiers, ours is also a challenge. For so many years now, our leave allowances have not been paid and we are aware that the government made provision for it,’’ he added.

Also speaking on the matter, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, SAN, blamed the spate of jail breaks in the country, on neglect of the NPS by the Federal government.

He noted that the prison was set up to serve as a rehabilitation centre for inmates, and so, deserved adequate attention, adding that government had lost concern for this purpose.

Fagbonhungbe also stressed the need to relocate prisons, so as to create adequate accommodation for inmates.
“Some of these prisons have old structures and were built years ago, with a minimal capacity; but as time progresses, the number of criminal cases increases, and so, the prison cannot house the same number of inmates.

“The prison system has completely been abandoned by the government; they are overcrowded and the inmates are not given the necessary attention. The prison structures in place are in a bad shape; a prison that was built for about 500 inmates, now houses over 1000 inmates.
Fagbonhungbe also stressed the need to separate convicted criminals from those awaiting trial, in a bid to avoid breeding more hardened inmates.

“Although the prison is not a place of rest, it however, requires certain minimum living standard for its inmates,’’ he added.