The Kuje prison invasion

THE security of yet another public facility has been brazenly breached by some outlaws who, in an audacious fashion, have showcased once again their capacity to wrest  state control and authority from the government. This time around, the target was the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre in Abuja. The facility was  attacked by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists who reportedly released more than 800 inmates, including some of their members whose ‘rescue’ was obviously the ignoble objective of the attack.  There have been so many attacks on prisons and military formations like the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), all without any consequences for the perpetrators. The instant attack is somewhat inexplicable and the circumstances have  raised strong suspicion of official complicity or even outright orchestration.

For instance, assuming there was a failure of intelligence, how could the terrorists have operated for more than  two hours in Abuja without official intervention from the military/security formations to checkmate them? Why did the incident happen barely 24 hours after the soldiers deployed to the facility were withdrawn? Who ordered the withdrawal in the first place, and to what end? And even at that, could it be that their colleagues who replaced them were not properly briefed? And why were high profile and hardened criminals kept in a medium security correctional facility? The incident also raises questions about the surveillance architecture in place at the prison. Was there no restriction of movement within the area given its sensitivity? And why was there no functional Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in the facility?

It is a massive oddity that inmates kept in prison by the state were shot at and murdered by outlaws. How could people observing the dictates of the law be treated in such a despicable and gruesome manner?  It was even reported that Boko Haram members gave a 15-minute Quranic lecture before leaving the premises of the correctional centre with their rescued colleagues. What a brazen and audacious action! Or could it be that they knew for sure that there would be no official intervention? Is it not strange that there have been 15 reported cases of successful attacks on correctional centres and about the same number of unsuccessful attempts  since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015?   The government has got to up its ante and get serious and sincere about tackling the menace of insecurity in the land.

President Buhari was perhaps jolted by the attack happening close to the seat of government.  And he uncharacteristically visited the Kuje Correctional Centre hours after the dastardly act by hoodlums where he expressed disappointment in and pointedly queried the failure of the intelligence system. He asked pertinent questions and  interrogated how the outlaws could organise, have weapons, attack the facility, and get away with it. Ironically, all the important questions raised by Mr. President indicted him as Commander-in-Chief. Indeed, those are the puzzles citizens are still  expecting him to unravel. In saner climes where public officials take responsibility for  errors committed under their watches, some officials would  have tendered their letters of resignation by now. And even in Nigeria where such a honorable step is seldom taken by erring officials, by now, if the president were active, some people would have been asked to step aside from office pending the outcome of investigations. But the president is as usual laid back and unwilling to take drastic action regarding his appointees.

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It would be a huge but pleasant surprise if the sequence of events after the Kuje incident is different from the tragic ones before it. Usually, there is initial public outcry and official condemnation of the incident, security meetings are held,  at the end of which everyone keeps his job; the issue leaves the front burner, and everyone goes to sleep until another ugly incident  happens.  It is important to stress that the successful invasion of the Kuje custodial centre by terrorists leading to the escape of hundreds of inmates, including Boko Haram terrorists kept at the centre, has sent a dangerous signal to the citizens and the international community, namely that the government is unable to prevent bandits from effecting any desired action within the country.  This is especially disturbing, as there are reports of intelligence warnings circulating about the possibility of such an attack without the government and its security agencies being able to do anything about it. Already, the United States of America, United Kingdom and the United Nations have issued negative cautionary advisories to their nationals and staff  on Abuja. President Buhari’s lamentation about the failure of intelligence speaks to the reality of total failure of the entire security architecture and apparatus of the government. But then, did the issue actually border on  failure of intelligence or curious inability to put available intelligence to good use?

If a custodial centre meant to keep those who have been adjudged to have violated regulations could be so whimsically attacked and those therein released, what remains of the authority of government to invoke laws and regulations and punish offenders?  It is a very ominous sign that the government is gradually but surely losing authority to terrorists in the governance and control of the Nigerian state. And that is really a sign of more danger if the government does not buckle down and positively change this narrative.