Kuje Prison: ASCAB Tasks Malami, NASS on Prosecution of Alleged Terrorism Sponsors

Alex Enumah

A civil society group, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has called on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to commence the immediate prosecution of alleged sponsors of terrorism.
ASCAB predicated the call on last week’s attack on the Kuje Prison, Abuja, where over 600 inmates including 64 Boko Haram members were freed by alleged terrorists.

The group in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Femi Falana, which faulted the poor security apparatus at the Luke Correctional Center, lamented the frequent attacks on Correctional facilities across the country of recent.

“Before the attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre, terrorists and other armed criminal gangs had successfully attacked 14 other Correctional Centres and freed thousands of convicts and awaiting trial inmates in many states of the Federation.

“In order to secure all correctional centres in the country in line with the aforementioned provisions of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act the Federal Executive Council should urgently approve fund for the purchase and installation of the necessary security equipment
“However, having regard to the security implications of the escape of the freed terror suspects the Nigerian people have expressed concern.

“Since only 64 terror suspects are detained in Kuje Correctional Centre, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami should disclose to Nigerians where the 400 sponsors of terrorism and the 800 terror suspects who were due to be arraigned in the Federal High Court last year are being detained.

“Before then the 10 soldiers led by an Army Captain who ambushed and killed the three police officers who had arrested an alleged kidnap suspect, Bala Hamisu (a.k.a.Wadume) in Jalingo, Taraba State in August, 2019 were not arraigned in the Federal High Court even though a charge was filed against them by the police.
“In fact, the case was discontinued against them by the Attorney-General of the Federation in a purported exercise of his powers under section 174 of the Constitution. It has been confirmed that Wadume one of the terror suspects who escaped from Kuje Correctional Centre last week”, the statement read in part.

Falana while observing that majority of the alleged terrorism detainees had been detained for over 10 years, wondered why the suspects were kept by the federal government when the governors of the north-east region had requested for the fiat of the Attorney-General of the Federation to have the suspects tried by the respective State Ministries of Justice.

“But for some inexplicable reasons, Mr. Malami turned down the request. Hence, the suspects have been abandoned in prolonged detention.
“In view of the foregoing, we are compelled to call on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN to ensure that the indicted sponsors of terrorism and terror suspects are charged before the Federal High Court.

“We also call on the members of the National Assembly who have been appropriating fund for the prosecution of terror suspects to monitor the prosecution of the indicted terror suspects”.