The Nigerian Correctional Service was ordered by the House of Representatives on Wednesday to account for convicts who escaped from the Medium Security Custodian Centre in 2022.
During a plenary session on Wednesday, the House directed its Committees on Reformatory Institutions, Interior, and Police Affairs to work with the heads of the relevant security agencies to compile a complete report on the status of the fugitive detainees.
The Committees must report back to the House within six weeks for additional legislative action.
The resolutions of the House followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Emmanuel Ukpong–Udo, a member representing Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State.
It would be recalled that the Islamic State in West African Province claimed responsibility for the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Custodian Centre, which led to the escape of dozens of Boko Haram suspects.
Leading the debate, Ukpong-Udo noted that “On July 5, 2022, a jailbreak in Abuja’s Kuje Medium Custodial Facility resulted in 879 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram terrorists, fleeing, with 422 remaining unrecovered or recaptured by security agencies.”
The House also noted, “That the Nigeria Correctional Service requires a comprehensive report on inmate incidents and methods to trace inmates and perpetrators, utilising its database.”
This is as the House said it was concerned that the presence of law-abiding citizens among 350 escapees with diverse offences “Poses a security risk as daily crimes are recorded without any trace of perpetrators.
“This is disturbing that after a year, the escapees are thriving in different communities, blending in and
potentially continuing their criminal activities unnoticed, necessitating the urgent need to have reasonable measures in place to track and apprehend these individuals.”