Kuje prison attack: I am disappointed with intelligence system — Buhari

…Demands comprehensive report

…Five dead, 64 Boko Haram inmates abscond

…Apprehension, knocks as FG hunts after 879 inmates, recaptures 443

…ISWAP claims responsibility

…Abba Kyari still in custody

By Moses Adeniyi

President Muham- madu Buhari  has expressed disappointment with the prison intelligence system following the bombing of Kuje maximum prison and escape of the attackers. This statement was made on Wednesday when Buhari visited the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje  attacked by terrorists, spending about 30 minutes there.

The President was apprised that, at the end of it, none of the 63 terrorists are accounted for, but it was emphasised that records are not lost because they have been backed up.

President Buhari, who, like most Nigerians was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack 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?” Question after question.

The President was also informed that the security forces have recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others are still unaccounted for, and that rapid work is under way to recapture the rest.

After inspecting some of the points impacted by the attack, President Buhari spoke to journalists, expressing disappointment with the intelligence system (and utilisation).

“I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”

The President, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.

In another statement, FG said, “The Presidency wishes to use this opportunity to react to mounting criticism of the trip to Dakar, Senegal by the President, and to stress that Governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats. To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow.”

Meanwhile, not less than five persons were reported killed, following Tuesday night attack by terrorists, numbering over 200, who did not only bombed the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but also left the way open for inmates, including incarcerated terrorists, to flee from the facility.

Among the casualties of the attack was an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the facility, three personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service seriously injured, while four inmates, said to have attempted an escape were also killed. Following hunt after the 879 inmates who escaped from the facility, over 443 has officially said to have been rearrested as at the time of filing this report.

FACTS

Among high profile inmates suspected and feared to have fled the facility was suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, who official sources disclosed was still in custody.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Chief Superintendent Abubakar Umar in an update-statement which confirmed that suspended Kyari and other high profile inmates were still in custody, narrated that “the attackers broke into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility respectively, killing a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Custodial Centre and living three (3) personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service seriously injured.

“A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. As at the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large, 4 inmates dead and 16 inmates sustained various degree of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates.

“The Service will deploy its Corrections Information Management System (CIMS) in synergy with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody. This is also to confirm to the general public that DCP Abba Kyari and other VIPs held in the facility did not escape. They are presently in custody, hale and hearty.

“Recall that after the attack at the Medium Custodial Centre in Agbolongo, Oyo state, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, met with the heads of the security agencies under his supervision where the idea of Joint Security Taskforce comprising the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was formed to forestall further breaches on custodial facilities.

“As at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, we have 38 military personnel on ground in addition to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and our Armed Squad. This is the Minister’s efforts to rejig the security architecture of our facilities.

“The public is also informed that some of the attackers were killed while some escaped with gunshot wounds. We, therefore, appeal to hospitals and other medical institutions and practitioners to report anyone that comes to them for treatment for gunshot injuries to the nearest law enforcement agency.

“The Controller General of Corrections Haliru Nababa FICMC, mni appreciates the efforts of other security agencies for coming to the rescue of the Service in a timely manner. He calls on the public to volunteer useful information that may lead to the arrest of the fleeing inmates.”