As Gbajabiamila Moves against Aregbesola

CICERO/Isssues

Between October 2020 and November 2021, Nigeria witnessed no fewer than 15 incidents of jailbreaks where over 5,000 criminals escaped but the House of Representatives never investigated why the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola could not utilise the huge allocations to the Correctional Centres to prevent such incidents. Ejiofor Alike writes that last Wednesday’s sudden decision of the lawmakers to probe the utilisation of the N165 billion allocated to the centres has fuelled suspicion that Aregbesola incurred the wrath of the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, for daring to attack the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu

The House of Representatives last Wednesday made a very curious move that further exposed the hypocrisy of those on the corridors of power when it mandated its Committee on Reformatory Institutions to investigate what it described as deteriorating conditions of staff and inmates of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

The lawmakers also claimed that the alleged deplorable state of the NCoS did not tally with the N165 billion budget allocated to the agency in the last two years.

The resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu.

Moving the motion, Elumelu had lamented the deaths of correctional officers across the country, following attacks either on escort vehicles or custodial facilities.

Adopting the motion, the House gave the Committee 12 weeks to carry out the investigation and report back for further legislative action.

The NCoS is headed by Mr. Haliru Nababa and supervised by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.

The decision of the lawmakers was curious since it was coming at a time the issue of jailbreaks was no longer a topical issue. It is on record that the number of jailbreaks witnessed in Nigeria under Aregbesola’s watch, particularly between October 2020 and November 2021 was unprecedented, and any sincere government should have sacked him.

The Premium Times had reported that the country recorded no fewer than 15 incidents of jailbreaks during the period but eight of the incidents were unsuccessful.

Also, a total of 5,238 inmates escaped from the various prisons in 11 states across the country, during the period.

The first incident of jailbreak occurred at Oko Prison in Edo State under the guise of the #EndSARS protest on October 19, 2020.

Two days later on October 21, the Benin Prison located along Benin-Sapele road was attacked by hoodlums. A total of 1,993 inmates were reportedly freed in the two incidents.

On April 15, 2021, another jailbreak attempt by inmates at a facility at Ubiaja, Esan South East Local Government Area of the state was also foiled.

An attempt by the inmates at the Benin Medium Security prison on Sapele Road to escape when a fight broke among them on October 29, 2021 was also frustrated by the intervention of the security agencies.

In the neighbouring Ondo State, no fewer than 58 inmates escaped from the facility in Okitipupa Local Government of the state, after hoodlums broke in during the nationwide #EndSARS protests on October 22, 2020.

On the same date, some inmates were shot by security agents to foil similar attempt at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre in Lagos.

Also on the same date, another attempted jailbreak was foiled at the Afara Umuahia Correctional Centre in Abia State, while a warder at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Warri, Delta State, was killed during a jailbreak by the inmates.

On April 4, 2021 unknown gunmen carried out an audacious attack on a correctional centre in Owerri, the Imo State capital, and freed 1,844 prisoners.

Two officials of the Bauchi Prison had also reportedly sustained injuries, while five inmates were injured on April 9, 2021 after a riot broke out at the facility.

Security agents also on April 22, 2021 foiled an attempted jailbreak by inmates of Kurmawa Prison located at the Emir’s Palace in Kano. In Kogi State, gunmen also attacked the prison facility in Kabba, killing two officials and freeing 240 inmates on September 13, 2021.

However, about 114 were recaptured.

In Oyo State, the Abolongo Custodial Centre was attacked on October 22, 2021 and 837 inmates escaped, but the interior ministry said 262 were recaptured.

Four inmates had also escaped from the Jos Maximum Prison in Plateau State on July 19, 2021.

At least 10 inmates were killed and 262 escaped in the most recent incident, which occurred on November 28, 2021 when gunmen attacked the medium security custodial centre also in Jos.

These incidents were enough for the House of Representatives to recommend the sack of Aregbesola and his team but the lawmakers chose to look the other way.

The lawmakers merely made a half-hearted attempt to probe the incidents in April 2021 when it mandated its committee on Reformatory and Correctional Institutions to investigate the incidences of prisons breaks across the country.

The resolutions were reached following the consideration of a motion under matters of urgent public importance, titled, ”Need to Investigate Jailbreaks Across the Country with a view to Forestalling reoccurrence,” sponsored by Hon. Chudy Momah from Anambra State.

Presenting the motion, Momah had stated that the attacks on correctional facilities have become a threat to internal security.

Also, following the last jailbreak that occurred in Jos Correctional Centre, the House in November 2021 merely asked the federal government to equip officers guarding correctional facilities with General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG).

The House also asked the government to provide electric fences and CCTV cameras at all the facilities in the country.

These resolutions followed a motion moved by Kazaure Gudaje (APC, Jigawa) during plenary.

Gudaje had noted that the correctional officers carried AK-47 rifles, the same weapon used by the attackers, adding that providing superior weapons for officers would tilt the battle to their side.

The resolution was carried when the motion was put to vote by the presiding officer and Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase.

However, in adopting their April and November 2021 resolutions, the lawmakers ignored the huge allocations made to the centres.

They also never made any corruption allegation against Aregbesola or the management of the centres, despite the pensive mood of a nation that was worried by incessant jailbreaks and the release of criminals to the society. On both occasions, the lawmakers gave the minister a pat on the back for his efforts to reform the prisons. This was apparently because the minister and his team were in the good books of the leadership of the House.

It is therefore strange for the House to suddenly wake up at a time when there were no more crises at the correctional centres to launch a probe of the N165 billion allocations.

The question agitating the minds of analysts are: Why the sudden interest of the House in the correctional centres?

The decision of the House became more curious since it came barely 48 hours after Aregbesola launched an attack on Tinubu, his erstwhile godfather, who is also Gbajabiamila’s benefactor.

After months of proxy war between him and the Governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, the minister had on Monday descended heavily on Tinubu and told him that the same treatment meted out to a former Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, which foreclosed his re-election bid in 2019, would be administered on his brother, Governor Oyetola.

Aregbesola spoke in Ijebu Ijesa, Osun State, while addressing party faithful and stakeholders in the state ahead of Saturday (yesterday)’s All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary.

Aregbesola did not actually at any point mention Tinubu’s name.

But he made ignoble passes at him in relation to the political situation in Osun State, including how he has abused his leadership and suddenly assumed the god complex.

“We followed and served this leader with all our might. In fact, our loyalty to him had caused some people to start wondering if we were no longer Muslims. But we were with him and served him, according to the admonition of our forefathers, who said ‘when serving anyone, we should do so with sincerity and loyalty; that if you regard anyone as your principal, you must serve him wholeheartedly.’

“Sadly, we didn’t know that while we wished him well, he didn’t think good of us. However, because we placed him higher than where he ordinarily should be, he started to think he is our god. Unfortunately, for him, we had sworn to God that whoever compares himself to him, we’d beg Him to bring down such a fellow.

“God says he does not have a rival, and if you heard what I said in Arabic, God said, ‘He is God and he didn’t have to start procreating before He’ll assume His place as God; that only humans procreate. You are the ones, who attach importance to procreation,” Aregbesola reportedly explained.

The former Governor of Osun State also revealed how he was betrayed by Oyetola, who was handed over to him as his successor.

“However, by the time my successor was handed over to me around May or July 2018, I was told, ‘Rauf, this is the ideal successor that would stand by you. He would further showcase your efforts. He would not betray you; he would not dim the light of your glory’. That was what the person, who handed him over to me said. If the person is listening to me, it would resonate with him, if he said so or not.

“But, did he do as he was vouched for? And when he reneged on these promises, did the person, who handed him over to me draw his attention to these failings? Anyway, isn’t the person the one we now see today?” he queried.

For the House under Gbajabiamila to launch probe against the minister barely 48 hours later has fueled the suspicion that it was in retaliation to the minister’s outbursts.

The mover of the motion, Elumelu is no doubt, a PDP lawmaker but his loyalty to the Speaker and the circumstances under which he emerged as the Minority Leader are in the public domain.

The planned probe by the House has explained why Nigeria’s rating in all governance indices will continue to go down due to the hypocrisy, selfishness and lack of sincerity on the part of the country’s leaders.