Another Jail Break, Same Reaction

HOW many prison breaks would it take to secure our prisons? What will
happen after the rash of media reactions to the break in Akure, in
which 175 criminals were let loose?
Before Akure there have been jail breaks in Ibadan, Warri, Bauchi,
Kano, Abuja (at the anti-robbery detention centre), and Port Harcourt.
The reactions have always been the same – media talks, promises to
address the situation, and forgetfulness until the next criminals free
themselves.
A jail break is one of the highest points of criminality. Its
consequences depend on the criminals involved and their motives.What
all these point at is that the authorities have failed to realise the
importance of securing convicts while they serve their sentences.
There is still a high tendency of dismissing the schemes criminals can
plot even while in jail. More importantly, the reactions after jail
breaks had been to descend on the prison authorities. We are well
aware that the prisons are at the lowest rungs for budgetary
allocations. The security at prisons reflects that reality.
Security at our prisons is left mostly to warders who are poorly armed
and easily over powered. It has happened many times. Furthermore, the
extent of the alertness, the number of warders deployed to man these
facilities, and the equipment at their disposal make the jail
breakers' job easier.
How could the collaborators of the criminals have succeeded if they
did not have insider information, and other possible assistance? How
did they know the type of equipment they require to blast the walls?
How could they identify the cells where their colleagues were kept?
They were obviously aware of the types of arms issued to the warders,
and possibly how many of them were on duty.
Armed with such information, the criminals knew what to do. The fact
that they could operate for hours without interruption should bother
the authorities. Where were the police? What was the reaction of other
security agencies that heard the commotion at the prison? If this
could happen within the state capital, where all the security agencies
have a huge presence that costs billions of Naira to maintain, what
could happen to prisons in more remote locations?
When will we improve the security at the prisons? When would modern
gadgets that could foil these attacks be installed? When would
intelligence be at heights that conniving prison officials can be
fished out before they do more harm?
This matter needs to be treated as emergency. Once criminals know they
can stroll into any prison and set their colleagues free,Nigeria would
be on a free fall into more insecurity. Akure should not be another
ignored warning.