Keffi (Nasarawa State): On Wednesday, Governor Abdullahi Sule toured the Keffi Medium Custodial Centre in the wake of a brazen jailbreak that freed 16 inmates, only to expose a facility bursting at its seams with remand prisoners.
Sule lamented that endless court adjournments have left scores of detainees shackled to hope rather than judgment, directing the supply of 500 mattresses to replace bare floors and urging leaders in Abuja to fast-track trials before
overcrowding sparks another security lapse.
He noted this during a visit to the facility in Keffi Local Government Area of the state, a day after 16 inmates reportedly escaped from the facility.
The governor was taken around the facility by officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS).
The NCoS, through its Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Abubakar Umar, had on Tuesday confirmed the incident and said so far seven out of the 16 inmates had been recaptured.
In comparison, a search had commenced to recapture the remaining nine inmates.
Sule, who visited the correctional facility with top government functionaries to inspect the aftermath of the jailbreak, interacted with NCoS officers and inmates.
During his interaction with journalists shortly after an inspection tour of the facility, Gov. Sule noted that the facility was congested.
He noted that most of the inmates awaiting trial in the facility are those whose cases are before the courts in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), hence the congestion.
He promised that his government would explore means to fast-track trials of accused persons to reduce congestion in the facility. He charged the inmates to be of good behaviour and law-abiding.
The governor, who noted that many of the inmates were sitting on bare floors, said he had directed that 500 mattresses be supplied to the centre by the state government to improve the inmates’ living conditions.
He equally announced a donation of one million naira for the upkeep of the inmates.
Sule reiterated that he was on a fact-finding mission to understand the reasons behind the early morning incident on Tuesday.
“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.
“From what we see, there are jailbreaks across the country. But for us to experience that, I wanted to know why it happened.
Was it due to the inmates’ welfare or the type of building they are being kept in?
“I came to realise firstly, that the majority of the inmates here are those awaiting trial at the courts in the FCT. They are not awaiting trial here in our courts in Nasarawa State,” he said.
Gov. Sule expressed the state government’s desire to partner with relevant authorities in the FCT, Abuja, to fast-track trials of inmates awaiting trial currently kept at the Keffi Medium Correctional Centre in a bid to decongest the centre.
The governor told reporters that it was his responsibility to approach the FCT officials to see how best to decongest the Keffi correctional centre.
“Through our chief judge, we will get across to the chief judge in the FCT. I understand that the Attorney General of the Federation would also need to be approached to see how we can resolve this,” he said.
Sule pointed out that even though there was every need to improve on the facility’s security, 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.