REPS TELL NCS ABOUT KUJE PRISON BREAK: “EXPLAIN WHEREABOUTS OF PRISONERS THAT ESCAPED YOUR CUSTODY”

Babatunji Wusu –

The Nigerian Correctional Service has been asked to provide information by the House of Representatives regarding the whereabouts of the prisoners who broke out of the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Center in 2022.

The House gave its Committees on Reformatory Institutions, Interior, and Police Affairs instructions to work with the pertinent security agencies on Wednesday (yesterday) in order to compile an extensive report on the whereabouts of the fugitive prisoners.

For additional legislative action, the committees have six weeks to report back to the House. A member of the House representing Akwa Ibom State’s Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, sponsored the motion that resulted in the House’s decision.

Ukpong-Udo brought up during the argument that the attack on the Kuje Custodial Center in July 2022, which allowed dozens of Boko Haram suspects to escape, was attributed to the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP). He added that 422 prisoners were unaccounted for or recaptured by security forces, out of the 879 prisoners who had left the facility, 64 of whom were terrorists affiliated with Boko Haram.

The House has urged the Nigeria Correctional Service to furnish a comprehensive report on prisoners and devise efficient procedures for utilizing its database to track both prisoners and offenders.

The House conveyed its apprehension about the potential security threat arising from the 350 fugitives’ mix of law-abiding people and criminals. It underlined how concerning it is that everyday crimes are being reported without any leads on the perpetrators.
The House also considered it concerning that a year has gone by and the escapees are still at large, possibly carrying out their illegal actions covertly and blending into other communities. This emphasizes how vital it is to put into action workable steps to find and capture these people.