By Nigerian Tribune Editorial

THE security of yet another public facility has been brazenly breached by some outlaws who, in an audacious fashion, have showcased once again their capacity to wrest state control and authority from the government. This time around, the target was the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre in Abuja. The facility was attacked by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists who reportedly released more than 800 inmates, including some of their members whose ‘rescue’ was obviously the ignoble objective of the attack.  There have been so many attacks on prisons and military formations like the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), all without any consequences for the perpetrators. The instant attack is somewhat inexplicable and the circumstances have raised strong suspicion of official complicity or even outright orchestration.

For instance, assuming there was a failure of intelligence, how could the terrorists have operated for more than two hours in Abuja without official intervention from the military/security formations to checkmate them? Why did the incident happen barely 24 hours after the soldiers deployed to the facility were withdrawn? Who ordered the withdrawal in the first place, and to what end? And even at that, could it be that their colleagues who replaced them were not properly briefed? And why were high profile and hardened criminals kept in a medium security correctional facility? The incident also raises questions about the surveillance architecture in place at the prison. Was there no restriction of movement within the area given its sensitivity? And why was there no functional Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in the facility?

It is a massive oddity that inmates kept in prison by the state were shot at and murdered by outlaws. How could people observing the dictates of the law be treated in such a despicable and gruesome manner?  It was even reported that Boko Haram members gave a 15-minute Quranic lecture before leaving the premises of the correctional centre with their rescued colleagues. What a brazen and audacious action! Or could it be that they knew for sure that there would be no official intervention? Is it not strange that there have been 15 reported cases of successful attacks on correctional centres and about the same number of unsuccessful attempts since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015?   The government has got to up its ante and get serious and sincere about tackling the menace of insecurity in the land.

President Buhari was perhaps jolted by the attack happening close to the seat of government.  And he uncharacteristically visited the Kuje Correctional Centre hours after the dastardly act by hoodlums where he expressed disappointment in and pointedly queried the failure of the intelligence system. He asked pertinent questions and interrogated how the outlaws could organise, have weapons, attack the facility, and get away with it. Ironically, all the important questions raised by Mr. President indicted him as Commander-in-Chief. Indeed, those are the puzzles citizens are still expecting him to unravel. In saner climes where public officials take responsibility for errors committed under their watches, some officials would  have tendered their letters of resignation by now. And even in Nigeria where such a honorable step is seldom taken by erring officials, by now, if the president were active, some people would have been asked to step aside from office pending the outcome of investigations. But the president is as usual laid back and unwilling to take drastic action regarding his appointees.