Following Wednesday’s rainstorm that gave way to the escape of 119 inmates at the Suleja Medium Security Correctional Centre, Nigerians and many stakeholders have revisited the conversation about the rehabilitation of the nation’s prison structures as well as the safety of the polity.
As of press time, 14 inmates have been recaptured by security operatives, while 105 are at large.
The Suleja custodian centre, built during the colonial era to accommodate a maximum of 250 inmates is said to have a holding of nearly 500 inmates at the time of the incident, with a daily feeding allowance of N750.
The deteriorating building has holes in its walls, and the absence of two perimeter reinforced fences, ideally between eight and 15 feet in height along with wire coils on top, has become a major concern for many Nigerians. This is particularly worrying because the building is sandwiched by residential buildings.
Since the incident occurred on Wednesday night, and a subsequent announcement by the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) on Thursday morning, Nigerians have yet to be abreast of the identities of the fleeing inmates as of press time.
Such delay in revealing their profile is likely to affect the swiftness of recapturing the fleeing inmates as seen in the July 2022 Kuje jailbreak: Less than half of escapees were recaptured barely 24 hours after the incident, and more than half of the number including 64 terrorist suspects were at large at the time.
When their profiles were released — Precisely three days after the incident had occurred — The escapees had fled the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and were sparsely rearrested by the police in other states.
In the case of the Suleja incident, the response time of the management also called for concern given the number of fleeing inmates captured thus far. Residents told newsmen that with the falling of the single perimeter wall due to the heavy downpour, they assisted the prison officials in capturing the escapees.
Other residents, however, noted that in a bid to escape seamlessly, the fleeing inmates began to throw stones and other items at them, causing them to panic and retreat.
Military and Security Affairs analyst, Deji Adesogan expressed his concerns on X, saying he had expected the Minister to have released the profile of the escapees.
Adesoga also warned residents of Suleja and other neighbouring areas at the fringes of the FCT like Zuba and Gwagwalada to be vigilant. “See out for strangers and report to the nearest police and military formation,” he said.
While OmoGbajabiamila, an X user, revealed that prison officials were “desperately searching” for escaped inmates in buses, checking resident’s toenails and hair, another X user, simply described as Faith, warned both Niger and FCT residents to maintain situational alertness and profile all individuals seeking employment or accommodation in the coming days.
Dilapidated Structures
With a growing population size of 80,124 inmates as of April 22, 2024, the NCoS said it has 55,436 inmates (54,041 males and 1,395 females) awaiting trial. This showed that 69 per cent of the nation’s inmates are yet to be convicted.
A Civil Society Organisation, Hope Behind Bars Africa noted on X, that jailbreak underscores the effects of deteriorating structures of the nation’s custodial centres, adding that “the inadequate maintenance of these buildings combined with overcrowding of the prisons is what contributes to a high likelihood of jailbreak.
Reacting to the Suleja incident, the organisation said, “Jailbreaks like these have far-reaching consequences on the society – they increase the charges for escapees and present immediate security, safety & public health concerns for the local community.”
Similarly, Security Analyst and Counter Insurgency Expert, Zagazola Makama is concerned about the overcrowding in the Nigerian correctional system.
Makama said, “Many of the prisons in Nigeria are overcrowded, with inmates living in poor conditions and lacking access to basic amenities such as healthcare, clean water, and proper nutrition. This situation has been exacerbated by the slow pace of trials and the high number of pretrial detainees.
“This graveyard, “sorry” facility with a capacity of housing thousands of inmates, is a vivid reflection of the situation in most urban custodial centres in Nigeria where both the staff of the correctional facility and the inmates are exposed to extreme poor conditions as a result of inadequate facilities and outdated technology.
“This has led to a lack of access to education, vocational training, and mental health services for inmates.”
A Civil Society Group, Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) further noted the need for the federal government to address the 69 per cent of inmates awaiting trial, locked up in the nation’s correctional facilities to prevent exposure to environmental hazards and strain on the prison facilities.
The organisation called on the NCoS to ensure public safety. “It’s time to surgically address the root causes through our proposed #PrisonReforms to uphold constitutional rights,” it said.
Recall that the NCoS in the FCT had admitted, earlier on Thursday that “The Service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and that they are old and weak”, but there are ongoing efforts “to see that all ageing facilities give way for modern ones.”