The Nigerian Correctional Service says it recorded zero jailbreaks and attacks in all 253 custodial centers across the country in 2023.The spokesman, Assistant Controller of Corrections Abubakar Umar, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.
Umar said that the government had taken comprehensive measures to bolster the security of the facilities and effectively counteract any potential threats, whether originating from internal or external sources.He said that Nigeria had been haunted by alarming occurrences of vicious jailbreaks and attacks in previous years adding that a lot of strategies were put in place to avert the trends across the nation.
He recalled that the management had announced on January 20, that 2023 would be a tough year for perpetrators of jailbreaks across the country as massive personnel and technology for intelligence gathering were deployed to forestall jail attacks.This, he said were both in terms of infrastructural development in the service for the year 2023 and security strategies to prevent what happened in the year 2022.
NAN reports that an incident occurred on July 5, 2022, involving the Islamic State West Africa Province, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram in which they successfully carried out an attack on a Nigerian highly fortified custodial centre in Abuja. The NCoS spokesman acknowledged that the absence of jail attacks in 2023 also highlighted the importance of collaboration and intelligence sharing among law enforcement agencies.
Umar said that the coordinated efforts of various stakeholders, including the Nigerian Police Force, NCoS authorities, and other security agencies, have also played a pivotal role in maintaining the security of custodial centers. “Their cooperation and vigilance have undoubtedly contributed to this positive outcome, “he said.
(NAN)
