The Senate has mandated its Committee on Interior to carry out a full scale investigation into the causes of jail breaks in Nigeria.
It has therefore summoned the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa over the jail break at the Jos Medium Security Correctional Centre.
The summon, according to the Senate, is to find out the challenges of the centers in order to prevent future occurrence.
The resolutions of the Senate was reached, following a motion titled, “Terror Attacks on two Communities in Plateau North and Jail Break at the Jos Medium Security Correctional Centre Jos,” brought to the floor by Senator Istifanus Gyang during plenary.
Gyang noted with grief the multiple terror attacks on two communities of Ta’egbe, Rigwe land and Durbi, Sheri District in a Bassa and Jos East Local Governments, leading to the death of over ten persons over the weekend.
According to him, the attacks caused by a security breach of the Jos Medium Security Correctional Centre, was a setback to the relative and much desired peace in Plateau North.
He disclosed that nine inmates, including an officer identified as Umar A. Mohammed, were also killed, while 252 inmates escaped during the jail break.
He said among the inmates at large, six were fatally injured, 10 of the escapees re-arrested, 63 sentenced to death, 27 convicted, and 181 awaiting trials.
Gyang said that the invaders responsible for the break “walked through a security zone and broke through to have over 200 inmates escape from the Centre.”
He added that the wardens who put up a fight against the invaders were overwhelmed during a gun battle against the attackers.
In his contribution, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita (Katsina North) blamed the spate of insecurity in Nigeria on the inadequate number of personnel across the various security agencies in the country.
He implored the National Assembly to rise to the occasion by appropriating more funds to security agencies to enable them undertake recruitment of more personnel.
The Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), attributed the recent jail break in the country to what he described as a “porous prisons system”.
He lamented that jailbreaks have become a recurring decimal which in recent times have exposed the lives of Nigerians to harm, as a result of prisoners on rampage to avenge their conviction.
It also mandated the committee on Interior to invite the Minister of Interior, the Attorney General of the Federation and Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, in order to carry out full scale investigation of the status of correctional centres nationwide, with a view to finding out the challenges to prevent future recurrence of jail breaks.
