By Raphael Ekpang
Nigerian Senate on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the explanation of the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on the actual caused of reported Suleja jailbreak.
The Minister in a closed door session with the Senate Committee on Interior said what really happened in Suleja was not actually a jailbreak, but the collapse of the moribund bricks of the prison wall, which was built over 100 years ago with local muds.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, who briefed Journalists shortly after a closed door session said the committee was satisfied with the briefing by the honourable Minister.
Recall that there was a reported case of jailbreak in Suleja, Niger State on 24th April, 2024, during which 119 Inmates escaped from the Correctional Facility.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Tunji-Ojo, had, during his visit to the affected facility last two weeks, disclosed that Government was planning to relocate some Correctional Centres to create better space, security and infrastructures.
But the Senate, on Tuesday, said the efforts by the Honourable Minister and the security agencies had helped in re-arresting some of the fled inmates, saying more would be tracked in the coming days.
“I know exactly that this particular prison was built in 1914. I think that was the year of amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria for about 200 people. And they now have about 419 inmates. And some of these places were built with mud.
“So, it was not really a jailbreak. You had heavy rainfall, a storm, and then the wall fell, and then the roof, even if you were in your private house and it is raining and you have a storm and your roof is gone and your walls come down, you will remain in the place?
“And so, naturally, people find escape. The good news is that they have what it takes to retrack them. And they have already re-arrested some of them, and the effort is still ongoing to get the rest people”, Senator Oshiomhole said.
The Senator, while hailing the presentation of the Honourable Minister of Interior during the closed door session, said, “we are satisfied, very satisfied with the Minister’s briefing. I believe he is doing what needs to be done. But going forward, we have to do what we have to do to appropriate more resources to modernize our prisons. They are made to be correctional, so they are not condemnation centers.
“And I don’t like lamenting something that we can do something about. So we are unanimous that we need to, take advantage of our role, the National Assembly, for our preparation to recognize that these prisons built hundred years ago simply don’t meet model requirements. And if you keep patching them, that is not going to do the deal. And of course, take advantage of modern technology to do what we have to do”.
Speaking on other critical issues the Ministry was working on, Senator Oshiomhole said, “one other sad thing which is not quite right is the fact that majority of people in our prisons have not been convicted. That, for me is sad, because of our laws, you are presumed innocent until you are convicted.
“Now somebody commits an offence, probably fights the other, and take him to prison. A Magistrate is in a hurry to remand, depending on who wants the person detained. And so we have a lot of people.
“The third element is the fact that most of the people in prison are under state offenses. And under the constitution, as amended, the state ought to bear responsibilities for people convicted under the laws of the state.
“And so if you use biased or neglect and you put people into