FIC Report (Nasarawa State) – Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has visited the Keffi correctional Centre where 16 inmates reportedly breached the security and escaped, with the Governor taking immediate steps to address the welfare of inmates who are mostly on awaiting trial.
Governor Sule visited the Keffi correctional Centre, alongside top government functionaries.
He was taken around the facility by officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
The visibly disturbed Governor ordered for the immediate purchase of mattresses for several of the inmates on awaiting trial found to be sleeping on the bare floor.
He equally announced a donation of one million naira for the upkeep of the inmates.
Addressing journalists shortly after the visit, Governor Sule expressed concern that most of the inmates at the Keffi facility are awaiting trials in courts residing within the FCT and not even courts in the state.
He said he was on a fact finding mission at the Centre with a view to understanding the reasons behind the Tuesday early morning incident.
“One of the reasons why I decided to come was not just to find out about the jailbreak but to find out why it happened. Because, from what you see, there are regular jail breaks across the country. But for us to experience that, I wanted to know why it happened. Was it because of their welfare or because of the type of building they are being kept. I came to realize firstly, that majority of the inmates here are those on awaiting trial at the courts in the FCT. They are not awaiting trial here in our courts in the state,” he stated.
The Governor told journalists that it is his responsibility to approach the FCT officials with a view to seeing how best to decongest the Keffi correctional Centre.
“Through our Chief Judge, we will get across to the CJ in the FCT. I understand that the Attorney General of the Federation would also need to be approached in order to see how we could resolve this,” he said.
The Governor equally expressed concern over the living conditions of the inmates with most of them sleeping on bare floor.
“I also came to see personally their living conditions, and it is not conducive. A lot of them are staying in a jam-packed environment and on the bare floor. I decided that today, the state government will buy the total number of mattresses so that each inmate will sleep on a mattress.
“I also spoke with them about their feeding. From all indications, there is not much problem with their feeding. In fact, some of the inmates said there was no problem with their feeding arrangements. We even saw those preparing their meals at work, meaning that either their lunch or dinner is about getting ready,” he added.
According to Governor Sule, after taking an assessment tour of the facility, two major issues were identified that required to be tackled namely prolonged detention of those on awaiting trial and inadequate conducive sleeping arrangements for the inmates.
On the need to beef up security in the area, the Governor recalled the call for calm by the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, assuring that his men are doing everything possible to re-arrest the fleeing inmates.
“He also sought for the cooperation of the people around the centre. The name has been changed from prison to the correctional centre. It is not a place where you are punishing people in prison without teaching them something they can learn to better their lives. The idea now is to see that whoever is here is here for correction.
“If they are related to us, we make sure we keep them here and be corrected. That was exactly the message I passed on to the inmates, with almost all of them accepting that concept. Once they are corrected and come out to the larger society, they will become better citizens,” he said.
Governor Sule pointed out that even though there is every need to improve on the security of the facility, addressing the immediate discontent amongst the inmates would reduce the frequency of jail breaks in the country.
“We must continue to work on improved security but I don’t think that it is the absence of security that caused what happened here. It is some of these grudges and complaints that may have caused what happened,” he said.
Recall that 16 inmates escaped from the Keffi correctional Centre early Tuesday, with officials confirming that 7 of them have been re-arrested, with 9 still at large.
Signed
ARI, LIMAN AMINU.
HEAD OF CENTRE,
FIC, LAFIA.
