The Nigerian government is yet to recapture no fewer than 1400 fleeing inmates from the Owerri Custodial Centre in Imo State and the Kuje Medium Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to Ministry of Interior’s website on Friday, two years after the attack on the Owerri custodial centre, 864 fleeing inmates have yet to be recaptured.
The custodial centre was attacked by gunmen on April 5, 2021, who forcefully released a total of 1,844 inmates in custody.
However, the profiles of the inmates could not be viewed properly to ascertain if any of the 864 inmates had been recaptured.
Also, a year and five months after the attack on the Kuje custodial centre, over 500 fleeing inmates are still at large.
Their names, images and prison identification numbers of the fleeing inmates who were declared wanted were visible and sighted on the website of the Nigerian Correctional Service on Friday.
It was indicated on the website that a total of 543 fleeing inmates were still at large, while 30 escapees had so far been recaptured.
Meanwhile, over 900 inmates, including 64 high-profile Boko Haram terrorists, fled the facility during a jailbreak on July 5, 2022. Security operatives then launched a manhunt after which 421 of them were recaptured.
The Federal Government, however, uploaded others’ data to the database of the International Criminal Police Organisation.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the NCoS spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, said measures were being deployed to track down fleeing inmates, noting that the attacks were unfortunate incidents that the service has since nipped in the bud.
“At the moment, we have deployed different measures in recapturing fleeing inmates such as the use of technological gadgets in tracking them. So far, we have recaptured a good number of the escapees, and we have deployed overt and covert measures to track down those still at large.”
Also, a security expert and the Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Consulting Limited, Kabir Adamu, stated that the purpose of using custodial centres to serve as a deterrent to criminals had started losing its aim.
In a related development, the Management of the NCoS has dismissed reports in some medium that inmates in correctional facilities are being fed with N200 as against the N750 daily budget.
The agency said the report is false and misleading urging the public to discountence it.
The Public Relations Officer, (PRO), of the Service, Umar Abubakar, in a statement said that the “misleading report circulated in a section of the media purporting that Nigerian inmates are fed with N200 daily instead of N750 approved by the Federal Government has come to the attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service.”
“This report is false, misleading, and mischievous in all ramifications. For the avoidance of doubt, the public may wish to note that feeding allowance for inmates in Nigeria is in the public domain, and vendors are paid the approved amount upon completion of supply.”
“Contract for ration supply is usually made public, and the conditions clearly stated for interested vendors to apply in line with the public procurement act 2007.
Furthermore, every custodial centre has a ration committee that exercises supervisory role over quality assurance of supply, preparation, and distribution to inmates to ensure that they are fed within the approved budget,” it adds.
The statement notes that the authorities have, over the years, demonstrated commitment towards improving inmates’ welfare in terms of feeding as well as empowerment through effective reformation and rehabilitation programmes.
“While the Service is making efforts to appeal to the Federal Government for upward review of feeding allowance to reflect the present economic realities, it will be unfair and unpatriotic for anyone to fabricate stories just to denigrate the Service.
“The public is advised to discountenance the false report and be assured of the irrevocable commitment of the Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa FICMC MFR, to work for the general good of persons in custody even as genuine support of well-meaning Nigerians will continue to be appreciated,” it concludes.