Give account of escapee inmates – Reps tell NCS

The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, urged the Nigerian Correctional Service to give an account of inmates that escaped from the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in 2022.

The House mandated its Committees on Reformatory Institutions, Interior, and Police Affairs to liaise with the heads of the relevant security agencies to produce a comprehensive report on the status of the escaped inmates.

Within six weeks, the committees are to report back to the House for further legislative action.

Emmanuel Ukpong–Udo, a member representing Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, sponsored the motion that led to the resolution of the House.

The Islamic State in West African Province had claimed responsibility for the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Custodial Centre, which led to the escape of dozens of Boko Haram suspects.

Ukpong-Udo, while leading the debate, noted that, “On July 5, 2022, a jailbreak in Abuja’s Kuje Medium Custodial Facility resulted in 879 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram terrorists, fleeing, with 422 remaining unrecovered or recaptured by security agencies.”

The House also noted that the Nigeria Correctional Service requires a comprehensive report on inmates and methods to trace inmates and perpetrators, utilising its database.

The House said it was concerned that the presence of law-abiding citizens among 350 escapees with diverse offences poses a security risk as daily crimes are recorded without any trace of perpetrators.

It noted that it is disturbing that after a year, the escapees are thriving in different communities, blending in and potentially continuing their criminal activities unnoticed, necessitating the urgent need to have reasonable measures in place to track and apprehend those individuals.