Prison break perpetrators ‘sent to their maker’— FG

The Federal Government on Thursday said it had foiled another jailbreak attempt following the attack on the Kuje Correctional facility in early July 2022.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, revealed this at the 64th session of the State House Ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Although Aregbesola did not specify which correctional facility he was referring to, he said those behind the attack had been “sent to their maker.”

He also boasted that no fleeing inmate could hide forever as their biometrics have been stored permanently on the Nigeria Police database.

On the night of July 5, 2022, armed persons stormed the Kuje correctional centre located at a satellite town in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

After the gun battle, which lasted hours, over 400 inmates believed to be linked to the Boko Haram sect escaped. Four of the fleeing inmates, security personnel and several gunmen lost their lives.

Fielding questions about the root cause of the perennial jailbreaks, Aregbesola said: “It is the season. I know you don’t want to hear it. Have we had what we are having in Nigeria today before? It is the season and it’s global.

“Why do we have assassinations in America? Bad as it is, it is horrible, but in America, people get killed every second. In California, within the last week in America, 20 people have been killed. Did you ask why? It has nothing to do with technology; it could even be linked to climate change.

“When things are hard, people who cannot manage their own stability resort to those types of things. You can’t say there is no terrorism in Nigeria; we are managing it. You can’t say there is no banditry in Nigeria; we are managing it. It is because of the level of insecurity in Nigeria, and we are rising to it. It is as simple as that.”

He assured Nigerians that future jailbreaks will be difficult and some of those who attempted post-Kuje have been “sent to their maker.”