Collapsed bridge grounds prison activities in Kwara

FOLLOWING the collapse of Bailey Bridge in the Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State last Monday, movements of prison inmates to courts in Ilorin from Mandalla maximum prison in the Local Government area has been grounded.

It is recalled that the age long bridge popularly called Moro Bridge, linking Oyo State with Kwara State, collapsed last week Monday.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Monday, the officer in charge of the prison, Alhaji Abayomi Gbadamosi, lamented that apart from inability of the prison management to move inmates to court in llorin, the collapsed bridge had paralyzed other activities at the prison.

“Operationally, the prison cannot make its statutory representation in various courts in llorin since the collapse of the bridge,” he said.

Alhaji Gbadamosi also said that he could not take the risk of transporting the prison inmates through available alternative routes which he described as long, risky and tiresome.

“It is basically not safe to carry our inmates through unofficial roads, whatever happens to them would not be explainable by me and to ply safe we decided not to go to courts at all,” he said.

He also said that the prison authority would take the warrants of inmates that were supposed to appear in court during this period to seek for another adjournment dates.

He said the situation had compelled the prison authority to reduce three shifts for its workers to two to enable them walk through the river during the day time.

The officer in charge of the prison appealed to the Kwara State government to put palliative measure in place to make the bridge motorable pending the period the Federal Government would commence permanent construction work.

He said the site of the bridge had been taken over by touts extorting money from people passing the area on foot.

It is recalled that hundreds of traders and farmers transporting food items through the area last Tuesday embarked on peaceful protest to the state Ministry of Works in llorin requesting for the rehabilitation of the bridge.