From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Federal Government, yesterday, warned it would no longer tolorate the attacks on custodial facilities across the country saying enough is enough.
The warning came against the backdrop of last Friday’s attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abolongo, Oyo State and previous attacks on custodial faciliteis in Owerri, Benin and Kabba in Imo, Edo and Kogi states respectively.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who deplored the attacks when he visited the Abolongo custodial centre, yesterday, said they were not just random happenings but premeditated, planned and coordinated crimes designed to make Nigeria unsafe and ridicule the government.
“We are going after every single inmate that escaped from custody. We shall hunt them to the ends of the earth. All the security agencies in the country are on their trail. We shall not rest nor tire until we bring the last one in, dead or alive. Let me assure Nigerians of the safety of their lives and property. Our custodial facilities are safe and we are putting extra safety measures in place in light of the observed pattern of the external attacks we have seen, to prevent any such occurrence in the future.
“I am assuring Nigerians that the Federal Government will pursue not just those who attacked our facility, but those who have escaped lawful custody. The attack was unconscionable. I commend officers of the Nigeria Correctional Service and other members of sister security agencies, who provided perimeter security for our facility for fighting gallantly and holding the fort before the attackers were able to gain access to the awaiting trial section of the facility. However, those who escaped are already being pursued. Some have been rearrested, many more will still be captured,” the minister said.
The attack on the Oyo facility was launched by gunmen around 10pm last Friday with a total of 837 out of the 907 inmates held in the facility freed by the gunmen. One soldier, one Amotekun operative and one inmate lost their lives during the gun duel, while many sustained varying degrees of injury.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III and 5the state Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko had also visited the facility.
Makinde who described the attack as shocking said close circuit television cameras (CCTV) would be installed as part of surveillance and security measures on the facility.
“Investigation is still ongoing. We cannot say precisely whether this is an isolated event, or is the beginning of a wider issue that we have to deal with. But whatever the case is, we have made an assessment here, we have taken some immediate decisions. We have asked that the road to this place be graded immediately. We are going to position cameras here and we will link them to our security situation room, not just here, but all other correctional facilities in the state. We are also making a list of critical state assets that we need to monitor. I have also asked that the entrance and exit points to the state be monitored,” he said.
Responding to question on high profile inmates escaping from the facility, Makinde said: “People are very quick to start talking about conspiracy theory. Investigation is still on. Yes, there are high profile inmates that are held in this facility. But they are not the people that they are carrying their rumour. So, I will appeal again that we should be calm. We have challenges around the country. We have insurgency, we have banditry. But we can only deal with those issues when we have the people in alignment to what the leadership is doing. We should believe that the leadership will tell them the exact situation of things at the appropriate time.”
Alaafin of Oyo, said attack on the facility was shocking.
“May God end such. This place is for those who are acting against the law and all what the government is doing to make things good, so that they can be kept away and reformed before coming back into the society as better people. But, the situation where they had to bring guns and explosives here to destroy the place is so shocking to us and painful. All those who died and injured, may God forgive them their sins and heal those in the hospital. The people of the town should be calm and wait for what the government will do. I am sure that the government will react positively and this incident will be a thing of the past. By the grace of God, we will never witness this type of devastation again in this town.”
The number of inmates that have been recaptured had risen to 378, while 460 are still at large, said Adams Ongaji, officer in charge of the custodial centre. It was gathered that the repair of damaged items at the centre had begun on Sunday.
It was, however, learnt that only two soldiers and three armed guards were on ground when gunmen with sophisticated weapons attacked the facility. “The the gunmen did not only overpower the five security personnel, they successfully took away three inmates that were remanded at the centre in connection with bank robbery,” a source said.
Deputy Controller-General, Operations, of NCS, Abuja, Mohammed Tukur, cleared the air on the speculations that the gunmen came to rescue the alleged territorial warlord and kidnapping kingpin on Ibarapa axis of the state, Iskilu Wakili, saying Wakili was not held at the centre. He said the suspected serial killer of Akinyele Local Government Area of the state, Sunday Sodipe was not also held at the facility.