Indications emerged Wednesday how insiders’ conspiracy within the security apparatus especially in the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) and failure of intelligence led to Tuesday’s evening attack on the Kuje Maximum Prison, leaving five persons, including four inmates and one Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officer dead.
Three NCS personnel were also confirmed to be seriously injured.
The daring terrorists were said to have operated successfully for about three hours and got 879 inmates escaped from the facility.
The centre came under severe bomb attacks which destroyed a good chunk of the facility that reportedly houses no fewer than 1500 inmates serving various jail terms while the majority were awaiting trial inmates.
An impeccable source said some suspected insurgents had in their hundreds, first bombed the facility before others emerged in droves from the immediate environment to lay siege and shot at the handful of unwary security operatives on duty to scare them.
They also fired at scampering inmates who sought to escape from the facility and in the process six of them fell to the sustained gun assaults as the gunmen sprayed bullets on anything moving or suspected to stand in their way.
One of Blueprint correspondents who visited the scene of the dreaded attack gathered that some soldiers deployed to the Correctional Centre’s environment, who had mastered the terrain, were moved out and redeployed 24 hours before the terrorists attacked Kuje Prison.
The source, a top security source in the know of the happening within the centre, confided in Blueprint that while the soldiers were removed, new ones were yet to arrive before the terrorists struck.
This, however, could not be verified as at the time of this report.
The source said: “There are insiders’ sabotage in Kuje attack that government needs to investigate very well.”
The source who refused to speak more on what he described as “sabotage” wondered how the terrorists were able to beat intelligence and checkpoints mounted by security agencies through the use of motorcycles.
Roll call
It was further gathered that as at 2.00am Tuesday morning when the situation was relatively brought under control and the roll call of inmates was taken, only about 111 out of the about 1500 in the custodian centre were available.
However, by Wednesday at about 2.00pm when another roll call was taken, a little over 300 hundred escapees were either recaptured or voluntarily returned to the facility.
“Yes, some inmates returned on their own but some were recaptured, especially those that are not really familiar with the environment and others who could not find safety in their hiding places.
“During the roll call, we also discovered that apart from the six dead, between 10 to 20 sustained severe injuries, a few fainted in fear following the life-threatening bomb assaults and repeated gunshots that lasted for more than one hour.
“I can tell you in confidence that close to about 100 vehicles including the Black Marias, the long buses and others usually used to convey inmates to court, individual cars and other salient property within the vicinity of the facility, were burnt during the assault.
“Besides, officials of the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS) had early Wednesday morning sealed up all ends in and out of Kuje, stopped every moving vehicle for careful search for any suspected escapee.
“Though we, here at the Headquarters, learnt a few were found out in the process but I am not in the position to tell you the precise numbers that were recaptured.
“Some fleeing inmates, perhaps fearing the apparent repercussion of being captured by eagle-eye SSS operatives opted to turn themselves in by returning to the facility from their hide-out,” a senior staff of the correctional centre, who declined to be named because the official does not have the authority to speak on the matter, said.
Eyewitness experience
Narrating his experience during the fracas, Mr. John, a senior staff of a federal agency said when the first bomb exploded, residents in the immediate neighbourhood scampered for safety, some running into nearby bushes across a stream, while others took to their heels towards the military checkpoint.
He also said many others decided to lie flat on the floor of their houses to avoid being hit by stray bullet.
Schools shut
Meanwhile, all the primary and secondary schools within Kuje metropolis and its immediate environs were shut as students, including those to write their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), were asked to return to the safety of their homes.
Also, those students in the boarding houses equally directed their wards to vacate their facilities and return to their parents until the authority found it convenient and safe for them to return.
Boko Haram detainees escape
Reacting to the attack when he visited the scene, Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd), said all the 64 members of the Boko Haram terrorists fled the facility.
Magashi told newsmen that there were strong indications that terrorists invaded the facility to free their members being held in detention.
He explained that the federal government was working hard to ensure that other fleeing inmates were recaptured and kept back in the facility.
“Most likely, they are Boko Haram because we have a sizeable number of Boko Haram (members) that are in detention.
“Presently, we could not locate any of them. I think there are about 64 Boko Haram (members) in prison, they have all escaped,” the minister said.
He said the correctional centre could accommodate 994 prison inmates.
The minister further said that before the end of the day, many more inmates still hiding would be rearrested and sent back to the facility.
Magashi said: “We are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all the escapees are brought back to the prison yard. I think the prison is an accommodation for about 994 inmate escapees.
“We have 600 already inside now and many people are being captured and brought back to the prison. Maybe by the close of the day, more would have been captured. I think everything is under control.”
NCS confirms devt
Confirming the development through an official statement, NCS spokesman, Umar Abubakar, said 443 of the escapees had been recaptured, bringing the total number of inmates in the facility to 578.
Abubakar said: “Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds.
“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.
“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 degrees of injury.
“The Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa has ordered 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 rearesst the fleeing inmates, the Controller General assures the public that the biometrics of all the inmates are intact and will be used to track them wherever they hide.
“He expressed his appreciation to men of other security agencies for their support and gallantry even as he extends his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wishes the injured a quick recovery.”
Buhari raises posers
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari raised some posers over the Kuje jailbreak, asking a myriad of questions around the security breach at the facility.
President Buhari raised the posers Wednesday during a 30-minute inspection visit to the facility.
Soon after he arrived, he was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Mohammad Lamido Belgore and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa.
The president was shown the bombed-out section used to access the facility and the records office which was set on fire, following which the invaders launched an attack on all cells where the Boko Haram terrorists were held.
The president was also told that at the end of the melee, none of the 64 terrorists were accounted for, but it was emphasized that records were not lost because they have been backed up.
President Buhari, who, like most Nigerians was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack queried: “How did the defence 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?” It was question after question.
The President was also informed that the security forces had recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others were still unaccounted for, and that efforts were on to recapture the rest.
After inspecting some of the points impacted by the attack, President Buhari spoke to newsmen, expressing disappointment with the intelligence system (and utilization).
“I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organize, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
The President, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.
Buhari’s Senegal trip
Meanwhile, the Presidency Wednesday dismissed criticisms that greeted Buhari’s Dakar trip.
The position was made known by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
Responding to a question on the desirability of the President visit to Senegal for the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit, Adesina said: “Yes, the president should go because there’s an international conference meant for heads of states and presidents, he should attend. You should never give in to terrorists.
“The moment theories begin to stop you from doing things, then we might as well throw up our hands in surrender. The President should go ahead. Yes, it’s an international obligation.”
Expert reacts
Commenting on the jailbreak, a security expert and retired intelligence officer, Mohammed Bashir, said the attack on the Kuje Custodial facility goes beyond the ability of the Nigerian state to properly secure inmates, but calls to question, the entire security architecture of the Nigerian state.
“I understand the Guards Brigade takes charge of the security of the seat of power. Even whilst driving into Kuje, Kubwa, Gwagwalada and its environs, you see them setting up check points, so how are the attackers able to sneak in with their weapons undetected and leave unscratched? It calls to questions the entire security architecture of the Nigerian State as this is too close to the seat of power in Nigeria,” Bashir noted.