ABUJA – House of Representatives joint committee investigating the July 5 attack on Kuje Prison has expressed dissatisfaction towards the service chiefs who were conspicuously absent at the investigative hearing.
Some of the security chiefs invited were absent, while some were represented.
The service chiefs invited included the National Security Adviser, Inspector General of Police, Minister of Police Affairs, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, and Chief of Air Staff.
The chairman of the committee on intelligence, Sha’aban Sharada, said the lawmakers would invoke their constitutional powers if the security chiefs fail to honour their invitation.
Speaking on the attack in Kuje, the lawmaker said the facility was invaded without “formidable” pushback from security operatives.
“Of grave concern is that the attack, which lasted for several hours, did not record any formidable resistance from the security personnel deployed to the facility, nor was there an adequate response from the security agencies in the FCT, despite the proximity of the Nigerian Air Force station at the international airport to the scene of incident,” he said.
The lawmaker described the attack as “very disturbing and embarrassing”, adding that it raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of the security architecture in the country.
Meanwhile, the minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola at the hearing said 65 security operatives were on guard at the correctional facility in Kuje, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on the day it was invaded.
The minister insisted that “well-armed” security operatives were attached to the correctional centre to prevent an attack on the facility.
“In that facility on that day of the invasion were 31 military personnel of the Nigerian Army, five personnel of MOPOL 21, five personnel of MOPOL 50, two personnel of counter-terrorism unit of the Nigeria Police Force, two personnel of Kuje police division, seven personnel of Nigeria Immigration Service, three personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and 10 personnel of the [NCoS] armed squad,” Aregbesola said.
“These 65 people were there for the specific responsibility of assisting and preventing any attack and they were all armed. Because of the presence of the press here, I will not tell you the great arsenal in their possession but they were well-armed. If we have an exclusive arrangement, I’ll give you the specifics of the great equipment of the military arsenal that was positioned for the defence of the facility.
“However, despite everything, our arrangement for protection of Kuje failed and the facility was breached.”
The minister further said that 994 inmates, out of which 64 were terror suspects — Boko Haram, ISWAP and others — were in the facility on the day of the attack.
He said 888 inmates escaped during the attack including 554 persons awaiting trial, 71 convicts, 36 on death row, and 17 on life imprisonment.
According to Aregbesola, 106 inmates refused to leave the facility during the attack, while 28 inmates who left the facility voluntarily returned between July 6 and July 15.
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