Kuje Prison attack: Buhari expresses disappointment with intelligence system
By Ukpono Ukpong & Tunde Opalana
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disappointment with the intelligence system (and utilisation) in the Nigerian Correctional Service.
This follows Tuesday night attack at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje by gunmen suspected to be terrorists, which a total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility.
President Buhari expressed his displeasure on Wednesday when he visited the scene of the attack to assess the level of damage done at the facility, spending about 30 minutes there.
Soon after he arrived, he was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, showing him the bombed-out section used to access first, and the records office which was set on fire, adding that the invaders thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.
The President was apprised that, at the end of it, none of the 63 terrorists are accounted for, but it was emphasized that records are not lost because they have been backed up, DailyTimesNGR gathered.
President Buhari, who, like most Nigerians was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack queried: “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” Question after question.
After inspecting some of the points impacted by the attack, President Buhari spoke to newsmen, expressing disappointment with the intelligence system (and utilisation).
“I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
The President, accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.
Meanwhile, following Tuesday night attack at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, by gunmen suspected to be terrorists, the Federal Government has launched a manhunt for the freed inmates.
In a related development, the Presidency has reacted to the mounting criticism of the trip to Dakar, Senegal by the President Buhari, stressing that “Governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, said that “To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, has disclosed that a total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the attack which claimed the life of a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Custodial Centre.
He revealed that the attackers gained access into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility.
Giving the statistics of inmates, Abubakar disclosed that 443 of the escapees have been recaptured, bringing the total number of inmates in the facility to 578, while 301 are still at large.
“The attackers broke into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility respectively, killing a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Custodial Centre and living three (3) personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service seriously injured.
“A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. As at the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large, 4 inmates dead and 16 inmates sustained various degree of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates.”
Furthermore, he said that DCP Abba Kyari and other VIPs held in the facility were among those who did not escape. “They are presently in custody, hale and hearty,” he added.
Abubakar further reassured Nigerians that the Service will deploy its Corrections Information Management System (CIMS) in synergy with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.
“Recall that in the wake of the attack on Abolongo Custodial Centre in Oyo State, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola met with the security Chiefs in the ministry to draw up a joint security framework for the protection of Custodial Centres against further breaches.
This is in addition to expanding the frontiers of collaboration to other agencies to fortify the facilities. Hence, at the time of the attack, personnel from the military, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service were on ground to support men of the Armed Squad unit of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
“As at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, we had 38 military personnel on ground in addition to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and our Armed Squad.
“Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds.
“During the gun battle, a personnel of the NSCDC unfortunately lost his life and three (3) officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service also sustained bullet injuries. Four (4) inmates lost their lives while 16 others sustained various degree of injuries.”
Abubakar further appealed to hospitals and other medical institutions and practitioners to report anyone that comes to them for treatment for gunshot injuries to the nearest law enforcement agency.
He said that the Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa has ordered the immediate deployment of the e-Corrections Information Management System (e-CIMS) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.
While appealing for prompt supply of credible information to aid the re-arrest of the fleeing inmates, he also conveyed the assurances of the Controller General that the biometrics of all the inmates are intact and will be used to track the fleeing inmates wherever they hide.
Earlier, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, had said that none of the Boko Haram suspects detained at Kuje prison in Abuja was found after the attack on the facilities on Tuesday night.
Magashi disclosed this while addressing journalists during his visit to access the level of damage in the facility.
He said that all the Boko Haram and bandits suspects held in the facility escaped during the attack which started around 10:30 pm Tuesday night.
“The attack started around 10:30pm. They came in their numbers gained entrance into the prison and they released some of the inmates and which we are now following to see the kind of inmates that they have released.
“We are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are returned back. The Prison is accommodating about 994 inmates and over 600 escaped. Many people have been recaptured and brought back to the prison. Maybe by the close of the day, more would have been captured and returned.
“I think everything is under control. The people who came to do this activities from the records we believe they belong to a particular group. Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have sizable number of Boko Haram suspects in detention, and presently we cannot locate any of them.
“I think they are about 64 in the prison and none of them now is available they have all escaped.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned in the strongest possible term, the spate of insecurity and the audacity with which terrorists ravage country unchallenged.
The party asserted that this can only happen under the rudderless All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The simultaneous terrorist attacks on the advance convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina State as well as the Correctional Facility in Abuja, the nation’s capital, underscore the collapse of the nation’s security command and control structure under the “failed, ineffective and uncoordinated” Buhari-led APC administration.
Hon. Debo Ologunagba , National Publicity Secretary of the party presented the PDP position in a statement Wednesday evening.
The party said “the terrorist attack on President Buhari’s convoy in his home State of Katsina as well as the ferocious invasion and the freeing of hundreds of terrorists and criminals from the Kuje Correctional Facility further confirm that Mr. President has lost control of the security of the nation and that Nigerians are no longer safe under the APC.
“The escalated spate of terrorism across the country has heightened apprehensions of complicity by the APC to open up our nation to more terrorist attacks with the view to stall the 2023 general elections.
“The failure of the APC administration to act on the intelligence provided by the Directorate of State Services (DSS) which on Tuesday July 5, 2022 reportedly warned of an impending attack on the Kuje Correctional Facility gives credence to fears by Nigerians of complicity at very high level of the APC administration.
“This is in addition to further reports that soldiers deployed to the precinct of the Kuje Correctional Facility and who had become familiar with the terrain were redeployed 24 hours before the terrorists attacked.”
The PDP demanded that the APC government should come clean on who ordered the reported redeployment of soldiers and who failed to act on the intelligence provided by the DSS.
“Nigerians can recall the public confession by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai at the wake of the bloody Abuja-Kaduna terrorist attack that the APC-led administration knows the whereabouts and the plans of the terrorists ravaging our nation but deliberately refused to act. Nigerians will also recall how APC leaders publicly romanced and paid money to terrorists.
“It is rather distressing that President Buhari appears helpless without any decisive and concrete steps taken to stem the tide of terrorist attacks in our country.
“Even more curious is that President Buhari continues to retain Mr. Isa Pantami as Minister of Communication and Digital Economy to head and coordinate this very critical sector in the fight against terrorism in our country in spite of Isa Pantami’s confession of affiliation to terrorists.
“With the sequence of events in the last 48 hours, it is clear to Nigerians that the APC government headed by President Buhari has failed in the basic purpose of government which is to secure life and properties of the citizens.
“Given the urgency of the security situation in the country, it has become imperative that President Buhari convenes an emergency Council of State meeting for a review of the prevailing dangerous security atmosphere in our country,” added the party.
The PDP also called on the National Assembly to pass a vote of no confidence in Isa Patimi and insist on his immediate removal as a minister. “The National Assembly should also immediately summon the Security Chiefs for a thorough investigation on the circumstances resulting in the failure of our security system,” insisted the party.
The PDP urged Nigerians to remain at alert and keep hope alive as the nightmare of the APC administration will be over by May 2023.
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In a related development, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje, Abuja.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement written in Arabic shared via A’maq Agency, a news channel run by the Islamic State.
“Islamic State fighters penetrated the prison of the Nigerian government yesterday (Tuesday), in Kuje city, on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, after demolishing its walls, and successfully liberated dozens of prisoners,” a translation of the statement read.
