The Nigerian House of Representatives has urged the Controller General of Correctional Service to immediately reinforce the armed squad of the service as part of measures to prevent the spate of attacks on correctional facilities across the country.
The House also called for effective collaboration between the Federal and State governments to tackle the threat.
This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance on the need to investigate the incessant jail breaks across the country.
Sponsor of the motion, Mr Ifeanyi Momah, a member from Anambra State, disclosed that in the last couple of years over 20 cases of jail breaks were recorded across the country and a huge number of inmates released into the society.
The lawmaker observed that “this pattern of jailbreaks and the audacity with which it was carried out portends great danger for the country.”
Momah attributed the occurrence of jailbreaks mostly to poor prison management and the failed prison system and expressed concern that the armed squad of the Nigerian correctional service in its present form might not be properly equipped to deal with these challenges.
Adopting the motion, the House called on the Nigerian Corrections Service and other security agencies to intensify efforts to recapture escapees in view of the danger they portend in the society.
Nneka Ukachukwu
