Reports of incessant, violent attacks on prison facilities in the country, leading to the escape of as many as 2,255 prisoners from detention since 2009, is alarming and unacceptable in a country claiming to be governed by law and order. If anything, the attacks signpost the beginning of anarchy. There are already too many loose criminals roaming the streets without the complication of adding detainees and hardened criminals to the population. These attacks occur across the country, although more common in the Northeast geopolitical zone, where the Boko Haram militants hold sway. A recent case, for instance, was reported in the Koton Karfe prison in Kogi State, where 144 out of 145 inmates were forcefully released by gunmen. To prevent the looming breakdown of law and order, the fight against Boko Haram should firstly be stepped up; and the prisons should be fortified; while the personnel are better equipped to cope with such attacks. There is need also to pay more serious attention to reforms to decongest the prisons.
As things are, Nigerians are living amidst all manner of criminal elements, a situation that portends a rising profile of criminality. Surely, there can be no peace or stability when so many criminals are on the prowl and the security apparatchik seems powerless to arrest the situation. Such a development smacks of chaos. The incessant attacks on prison, and escape of detainees, are a bad omen for the country.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS), Ope Fatinikun, made the shocking revelations recently in Abuja, while briefing journalists at the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies. According to him, there have been 14 attacks on 15 prison facilities since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009. The NPS, he said, has lost 46 of its officers in the attacks.
Fatinikun further disclosed that out of a total of 56,785 people in the country’s 239 prison facilities, 38,743 or 68 per cent are awaiting trial cases, while only 1,439 or 2.5 per cent have been convicted for various crimes. About 151 of the prisoners are reportedly foreigners.
The high figure on the awaiting trial list is an indictment on the country’s system of justice administration, comprising the police, the Director of Public Prosecution and the judiciary. Certainly, the institutions have not fared well; else, why should so many people be clamped into dilapidated prison facilities for years without trial? What is preventing speedy adjudication of the cases many of which ought to be dealt with summarily? It is on record that many awaiting trial inmates eventually spend more time in detention than that prescribed for their offences. The slow wheel of justice in the country is partly to blame for the crisis facing the prisons. If prison inmates were tried expeditiously, there would be fewer of them in the facilities; and attacks on prisons might not be so attractive to hoodlums. It is equally sad that fewer than 300 of the 2,255 escapee prisoners have been re-arrested; 15 others reportedly returned voluntarily.
The state of affairs with the prisons is lamentable. Much of the prison reform promised by successive administrations has been little more than rhetoric in nature, with almost no impact on the deplorable condition of the prisons. The detestable environment of the prisons defeats the spirit and purpose of the establishments, which is more of reformatory than punitive. The case of those awaiting trial is even more pathetic because until an accused person is convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction, he is presumed innocent. The dictum that justice delayed is justice denied finds meaning in Nigeria.
The Ministry of Justice had on several occasions mooted the idea of decongesting the prisons as a way out of the problem. But to date, little or nothing has been done in that regard, except the isolated occasions when some governors or the Chief Judges released a few prisoners out of compassion. While that is a step in the right direction, the number is minuscule and has little impact on the embarrassing situation. With the rising criminality all over the country, soon, there could be no place to keep arrested persons. The police and judiciary must buckle up to remedy a worsening situation.
The incessant attacks on the prisons in the North East Zone in particular, are part of the collateral damage of the Boko Haram war. A breakdown of the attacks shows that of the 15 prison facilities affected, 12 were in the Northeast Zone while only three were outside the zone.
Some of the high profile attacks and the number released include Maiduguri, 482; Bauchi, 489; Mubi, 366; and Ganye, 124. Also, 205 inmates escaped from prison in Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states.
Since the attackers usually come with grenades and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), it is obvious that the conventional security arrangement at the prisons is no longer feasible; the prison wardens need to be re-trained and re-equipped with relevant weapons. It is regrettable that in almost all the attacks, paucity of equipment prevented the prison wardens from repelling the attackers. This issue should be given the deserved attention. More than that, emphasis should be placed on intelligence gathering and proactive actions to prevent the attacks, or nip them in the bud.
