Mohammed Shoaanya
Inmates of Jos Prison on Friday protested the alleged moves by the Prison authority to reduce the quantity of their daily meals as prices of food materials supplied the prison has skyrocketed in the market.
The inmates were said to have expressed displeasure over the plan by prison officials to reduce their food ration.
The protest erupted after the inmates got wind of the plan to reduce their daily food ration which most of them considered inadequate.
The contractor in charge of food supply to the centre was said to have complained to the authority about the high cost of food items, especially rice which is a stable menu of the inmates, suggesting that supplies should be adjusted from four times to twice in a week and will be substituted by either grains or garri.
This decision seemed not to go down well with the inmates as they expressed their grievances on Friday during a routine briefing by the official in charge.
The Nigerian Correctional Service in Jos, the Controller of Corrections Plateau State Command, Raphael Ibinuhi, stated that tear gas canisters and firing shots in the air were applied to disperse the unruly inmates when they refused to return to their cells.
“By the time the inmates were called this morning for briefing, they were not happy that the period for consumption of rice has been reduced from four times to two in a week and expressed dissatisfaction on the development,” Ibinuhi stressed
“I instructed the officer in charge to return them to their cells but instead of returning to their cells , they became violent and started throwing stones at the personnel.”
“To keep the situation from getting out of hand, we have to resort to firing tear gas canisters and gunshots which enable the men to return the inmates to the cells.”
”Some of the personnel sustained minor injuries from the stones thrown at them but no inmates were injured during as the situation was brought under control.”
