By Lateef Adegbite
The Last may not have been heard about the the Kuje Medium Correctional Centre attacked by the Islamic State of West African Province , ISWAP, fighters on Tuesday, June 5, 2022. Tukur Mamu, a Media Aide to Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna based Islamic Cleric, may have shocked Nigerians when he said he alerted the Security and Intelligence agencies Chiefs about the planned attack on the Correctional Centre facility by the north east state of Borno based Islamic state of West African Province, ISWAP. Terrorists.
By shring the information with the Authorities, he had expected Haliru Nababa, Comptroller General, Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, the Nigerian Correctional Centre, NCoS, to have tighten up security at the Medium Correctional centre and also install close circuit Television, CCTV, to monitor the movement of people in and out of the facility.
Note that two days after the sheikh Gumi Media Aide alerted the Authorities about the planned ISWAP attack on the Kuje Prison where over 60 arrested Islamic Fundamentalist , BokoHaram Group and ISWAP fighters were detained, the terrorist struck release them. The Islamic Cleric Aide had said without mincing words that ‘’the attack was executed and coordinated by the Ansaru Group, a breakaway faction of BokoKaram and ISWAP, based in the north west of Kaduna, which had attacked the Abuja-Kaduna Passenger train on March 28, 2022, and abducted 64 passengers while eight others were killed.
According to him, instead of the Authorities to have acted fast to prevent the attack on the Kuje prison facility because of the large number of terrorists detained there, mostly the BoKo Haram Commanders, Lucky Irabor, an Army General and Chief of Defense Stafff, CDS, was said to have Constituted a Committee to look into the matter but that was how far he could go.
Unknown to him, the ISWAP, terrorists and their Ansaru Group Collaborators who are aiding and abetting the activities of the Bandits Group, operating in the north west states of Kaduna, Sokoto and the north central state of Niger, had concluded arrangement to throw the country into confusion by attacking the Kuje Correctional centre .
Mamu, has left no one in doubt that he was in close contact with the Borno state based terrorists Group, when disclosed that ‘’they had requested for the release of 51 of their members in Kuje prisoson, stressing that he was able’’ to scale the request down to 10 which was communicated’’ to the Authorities in audio evidence’’.
He lamented that ‘’there was an unnecessary delay from the Mohammadu Buhari led All Progressive Congress , APC, government to act, may have given the terrorists opportunity to attack the Kuje correctional facility located at the outskirts of the FCT and escaped with little or no resistance, which is a bad advertisement to the country.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President , who may have planned to travel to Daura, his home town, for the Sallah Cebration , where the advance Tam of security guards , Department of State Services, DSS, personel, and State House Correspondents were attacked at Dutsinma, described as a flashpoint area in the state by Bandits who had laid ambush for them on Tuesday, June 5, 2022, was still in Abuja when the ISWAP terrorists struck at Kuje Custodial centre.
On Wednesday, July 6, 2022, he went to the prison premises to see things himself . The Nigerian President who could not hide his feelings after assessing the situation and wondered how the terrorists penetrated the prison premises without being caught. He had expressed his disappointment with the country Intelligence agencies.
His anger knows no bounds. Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to Buhari on Media and Publicity,noted that the President had questioned how: the terrorists organise to have weapon to attack the Kuje Medium security prison in Abuja and get away with it’’. He was said to have further asked NIS Authorities: How the defenses at the prison failed to prevent the attack. He had sought to know how many inmates were in the Kuje prison and how many could be accounted for now after the terrorists attack.
He may have sent a message to Nababa, the agency Director General that Heads will roll when he asked : How may officers were on duty during the attack, how many of them were armed and whether there are guards in the watchtower. He believes that if there were guards on the watchtower at the time of the attack the guards would have been able to put up a strong resistance.
Ahmad Lawan, Nigerian Senate President may have painted a sorry state of the Kuje prison facility, when he said that there were no CCTV servicesinstalled at the Medium Security custodian centre, FCT.
An aggrieved Lawan while on tour of the facility on Thursday, June 7, 2022, may have passed a vote of no Confidence on Nababa, the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Services, NIS, . Hear him: I am disappointed that ‘’there are no CCTVs, something that could have recorded or at least give Nigerians a clear view of what is happening and even record the event’’. The situation at the Kuje Custodial centre may not be different from all other medium security custodial centres across the country , no installed CCTV or broken down CCTV.
Shuaibu Belgore, Permanent Secretary, ministry of Interior and Nababa, Comptroller General, NIS, had told the Nigerian President on arrival at the Kuje prison facility that the terrorists had bombed the out section and records office, which was said to have been set ablaze. The duo noted that the terrorists, who may have come fulyl prepared had aunched the attack on all cells in which BokoHaram and ISWAP terrorists were held. The question on the lips of most people was how did they know the cells the BokoHaram fighters were held to release them with ease.
There are indications that the 63 terrorists detained in the Kuje prison were released by the ISWAP attackers alongside 879 other prisoners. Prior to the IWAP attack on the Kuje prison, informed sources told The Value News that there were 994 detained inmates in the prison facility. The Prison officials with the support of the security operatives are still hunting for the 443 prisoners who took advantage of the terrorists attack on the Kuje prison to escape while 551 are still in the NoCS Custody. But the 63 BokoHaram and ISWAP fighters could not be accounted for, meaning that they have gone into tin air.
Theophilous Danjuma, a retired Army General and former minister of Defense, during Olusegun Obasanjo’s Obasanjo, and one Chief of Army Staff, believes that there is a complicity between the soldiers and the terrori sts Groups and that is why they could launch attacks on Institutions and escape. He has told those that cares to listen that the military cannot defend Nigerians because they have soiled their hands
Given Buhari’s inability to protect Lives and property as Sworn in his Oath of office administered by Justice Mohammad, Tanko a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN during his first term, in office in 2015, second term, in 2019 , , the League of Women Voters, LWV, had asked the Katsna state born Nigerian President ‘’to resign to mitigate the economic suffering in the country’’.
Esther Uduehi the founder of the women Group, may have spoken the mind of members when she said that ‘’Nigerians are sick and tired of the Administration’s excuses of putting the blames of the high level of insecurity and battered economy on the 16 years of the Opposition People’ Democratic Party rule ‘’.
She had categorically stated that ‘the APC government has collapsed and has nothing other than pain and sorrow to offer Nigerians’’. The women group may have taken advantage of the Kuje Medium security attack by ISWAP terrorism despite the tight security at the FCT, to speak out . But he cannot resign resign, uness the National Assembly which Nigerians had described as lame duck threaten to impeach him which is out of the way because of their good working relationship over the last three years.
While the Nigerians are still bashing the Nigerian President over the audacious attack and shooting of a Presidential convoy after the Abuja –Kaduna train attack and kidnapping , coupled with the slaughter of the worshippers in St. Francis Owo, which Raufu Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun state and minister of Interior had hurriedly inked on SAP, the Nigerian President has been globe trotting instead of addressing the security challenges of the country squarely.
First, to Kigali, Rwanda , to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, then Portugal on a Statevisit and now Dakar, Snegal , to Launch a $93 billion Financial Ppackage for the International Development Association, IDA,’’ towards a robust and resilient economy for Africa’’.The events in which the Nigerian President had been directly involved were said to have taken place between June 22, 2022 and July 5, 2022, an interval of 15 working days.
Many had expected him to take use the opportunity provided by the Kuje Custodial centre incident to warm himself back to the heart of the people by speaking to Nigerians on the security situation of the country as the National Assembly could only pass Resolutions leaving the implantation to the Buhari led Executive bu failed to do so.
. Ali Ndume, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, may have alluded to this when he said that the President ought to have ‘’ addressed the nation on the matter of insecurity rather than’’ issuing Statements through his Media Aides’’ which does carry any any weight.
The Borno state born politician was emphatic: When it comes to issues like these, particular, the Kuje Custodial centre attack in Abuja, ‘’ it is the President himself who be talking to Nigerians but to leave the matter for Media Aides to do. He had said that ‘’many of those who escaped from the Kuje prison weredangerous Boko Haram and IWAP fighters’’.
Recall that in April 5th 2021, the attack on the Medium Correctional centre at Owerri , Capital of the south east state of Imo with explosive devices where it was reported that 1, 844 inmates were freed and the attack had been linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra , IPOB, by the Authorities. Nobody had any inkling that BokoHaram and ISWAP, terrorists could have the audacity to do it. The recent attack on St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, where scores of people were killed may have opened people’s eye to know that the BokoHaram, ISWAP and Ansaru Group fighters are everywhere and ready to strike at any given opportunity.
Also in October, same year, suspected gunmen had arrived in their large number and attacked the ministry of Interior Custodial centre in the Abolongo Area of the Ancient of Ibadan with explosives to gain access to the prison where they were said to have freed scores of prisoners. Indeed, it never ocuured to the Nigerian government the north north w east and north west based terrorists have peneterated, every part of the country causing great havoc until the Kuje incident occurred in the city of Abuja. There is no gainsaying the fact that the attack on the threNCo had followed the same pattern: use of explosives to gain entry into the Prisison premises and cells too release prisoners, showing that it was expertly handled which points to the direction of BokoHaram, ISWAP, Ansaru Group and the Bandits Group fighters, all based in the north.
When former President Goodluck Jonathan said that there were terrorists sympathisers in his government, critics laughed at him. The situation during the Jonatahn Administration may not be different now, going by what is happening in the country: frequent attacks, abduction and killings in different parts of the country
