The nation received a galling shock reinforcing the threadbare state of security in the country when terrorists launched a late night attack on Kuje Correctional Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and freed hundreds of inmates.
This came hours after bandits attacked the convoy conveying the advance team of security guards, protocol and media officers, ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Sallah trip to his hometown in Daura, Katsina State, on Tuesday night.
An angry President Buhari, yesterday, expressed disappointment with collapsed intelligence in the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, when he stopped over at the prison to assess the level of damage while on his way to Senegal to participate in the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa summit in Dakar, Senegal.
Apparently miffed, the President said: “I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
Shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack, President Buhari 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?” he reeled out question after question.
The President, accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, at the end of the visit, directed “a comprehensive report” on the incident.
Earlier on arrival, the President 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, who showed the bombed-out section used to access the prison, and the records office, which was set on fire, adding that the invaders had launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.
The President was further apprised of the developments even as officials said none of the 64 Boko Haram terrorists held at the facilty could be accounted for, though their records were intact and backed up.
A statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, further explained that the President was informed of the re-arrest of 350 of the escapees while about 450 others could not be accounted for.
The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, said 64 Boko Haram suspects escaped from the Kuje custodial after the attack on the facility. Addressing newsmen after taking an assessment tour of the facility, the Minister said the attack started around 10:30p.m. with heavy gunfire and explosions.
He said they came in their numbers, gained entrance into the prison and released some of the inmates who are now at large, adding that some had been recaptured.
“Very soon, we will give you the correct figure of the inmates that were taken, aside that, we are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are returned.
