President Muhammadu Buhari says that he is disappointed with the failure of the intelligence system and its utilization at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje in Abuja, which was attacked by terrorists on Tuesday night.
According to a tweet post on President Buhari’s official Twitter account, he made his feelings known while speaking to journalists during his visit to the correctional facility on Wednesday on an assessment tour after the attack.
What President Muhammadu Buhari is saying
President Buhari in the tweet post said, ‘’Saddened by the attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje. I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organize, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it? I am expecting a comprehensive report on this shocking incident.’’
Soon after he arrived at the facility, the President was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa.
Both men showed President Buhari the bombed-out section and the records office, which was set on fire, adding that the invaders thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.
Buhari was told that none of the about 64 Boko Haram terrorists were accounted for after the terrorist attack.
The President was also informed that the security forces have recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others were still unaccounted for, and that rapid work was underway to recapture them.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in his statement said that President Buhari, like most Nigerians, was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack.
He said that the president asked, “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for?
“How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?”
The President, accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said he was expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident at the end of the visit.
In case you missed it
- Recall that the Nigeria Correctional Service had confirmed an attack on the Medium Security Custodial, Kuje on Tuesday night.
- The attack comes a few hours after there were reports that the Department of Security Service (DSS) alerted the authorities of an impending attack on Kuje prison.
- Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magaji, had earlier revealed that all the 64 Boko Haram terrorists at the Kuje prison have escaped during the attack on the facility by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday night.
