New Telegraph

Kuje Correctional invasion: Lawan hinges attack’s success on insider conspiracy

…says it’s symptomatic of security failure

…calls for relevant authorities’ sanction

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday, said that Tuesday’s attack on the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre by terrorists could only have been possible with the collaborationof insiderswithinthe nation’s Correctional system. He wondered how an estimated 300 terrorists could have successfully operated in the facility, having come on foot, “I believe they should have been detected, because 300 people will not come for an operation like this without planning.”

Lawan stated this when he led a delegation of the leadership of the Senate to assess the level of attack on the Correctional facility by insurgents. Lawmakers on the Senate delegation, which also had some members of the Committee on National Security and Intelligence, were conductedaroundthefacility by the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa. According to Lawan, an attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, could only have been possible with the collaboration of insiders within the nation’s Correctional system.

He faulted the Nigerian Correctional Service for not providing Closed Circuit Television(CCTV) at the Kuje facility and others across the country. HeaskedtheComptroller- Generalof theNCStoinclude a request for the provision of CCTVacrossmaximumand mediumcorrectionalcentres across the country in its 2023 budget proposal to the NationalAssembly for approval. Speaking after an assessment of the facility, Lawan said: “The attack on this correctionalfacility issymptomatic of the failure of security failure. The attack is only a culmination of the failure. “We were told that an estimated 300 terrorists attacked this facility.

They came on foot, and Ibelievethey should have been detected. In the first place, 300 people will not come for an operation like this without planning. Planningmusthavetakenaweek, a month or a bit more. I believe that our security agencies should have picked this from their tracking systems in the FCT. “Secondly, having gone round thefacility itself, weare disappointed thatthisfacility does not have Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, something that wouldrecord and give you details of what is happening and sometimes record the events.

“This is a Medium Security Custodial Centre: how onearthintheFCTfacilityof thismagnitude wedon’thave CCTV? It means we can say that all other medium security centres across the country do not have CCTV. “WehaveaskedtheComptroller- General of Correctional Centre to ensure that the request for CCTV at the maximum and medium custodial centres of the country is included in their 2023 budget because this is essential and indispensable. “Now, as this facility lacks a functional CCTV, there’s no record of what happened, except narration.

But if we had CCTV, at least, the records would have been there and analysismade, andarrestwill be based on the information from the CCTV. “Thirdly, going from one cell to another to release people, specifically, those that are known to be insurgents, tells a lot of story. It may not be far away from an insider job, someone who is either working in this place or must have worked here. “I think we have to look deeper into what happened so that we find the culprits,because when things like this happen, thenthereshouldbe sanctions. Where people fail to do their job properly, and they have been given that responsibility, they should be asked to take responsibility.

“If people don’t take responsibility for their failure, then it means nobody would bother to do what is expected of their office or the job that the person has been given. Having this kind of situationtodayintheFCT, thatwe have criminals who are free now all over the city is very dangerousandyoucannever have peace of mind. “The FCT has the seat of government, and today that seat is not safe.

So, we have to do whatever it takes to get everybody back.” Lawan, therefore, tasked the security agencies to ensure that the insurgents who escaped from the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre are found and brought back. Briefing the lawmakers earlier, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army Battalion in Gwagwalada, Lt-Col Adisa, told the Senate leadership that over 300 insurgents were behind Tuesday’s attack on the Kuje facility. According to him, only a total of 50 securitypersonnel were on ground when the terrorists, armed with IEDs, stormedthefacilitytorelease the insurgents.

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