Sequel to the escape of more than 100 inmates from a Custodial Centre in Niger State, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Thursday, called for immediate reforms custodial centres across the Federation.
The Minister, who was at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre in Niger State, venue of the incident, blamed the occurrence on a natural disaster.
He, however, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to bringing the remaining 109 fleeing inmates back into detention.
“Because of the force majeure, the storm that happened, there was a breach of the outer wall of this facility, and some of the inmates escaped. And of course, we have been able to recapture 10 back out of the 119. So, we have 109 at large.
“And the manhunt is presently ongoing. We will do everything humanly possible to make sure everyone is brought back.
“We have also looked at the cause of the matter because we must make sure that this does not happen again.
“We can see that the walls are old, and unfortunately, there are certain responsibilities that we must take.
“But the most important thing is that we will do everything possible to restore sanity, to ensure that this does not happen in any other facility.”
He also bemoaned the fact that the centre, which was designed for 250 inmates, housed 499 prior to the incident.
Earlier, the NCoS threatened to publish the names and pictures of the fleeing inmates.
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