Riots/Jail Breaks in Nigeria Prisons: An Aetiological Study

Abstract

In recent times, riots/jail breaks in the Nigerian Prisons have become recurrent phenomena. So rampant, that they pose security concerns and serious threats not only to the prison authority, but also to both the government and the people of Nigeria. For instance, on the 2nd of January, 2013 about 20 inmates escaped from a secured prison in Sagamu, and on 15th February 2012 Boko Haram attacked Koto-Karfi prison in Kogi State, releasing about 119 Awaiting Trials Persons (including Boko Haram suspects). Other examples of riots/jailbreaks in the Nigerian Prisons include: The February 2004 riot in Ikoyi prison, the Port Harcourt prison attack of 2005 and Onitsha prison attack of the same year. On 6th September 2007 riots occurred in Kano prison and on 8th September 2007 riots occurred at Agodi prison in Ibadan. On Wednesday 3rd June, 2009 about 150 inmates broke jail at Enugu prison. On 20th of April, 2010 Kaduna prison experience jail break; and the Boko Haram attacked Bauchi and Maiduguri prisons in 2010 and 2011 respectively, to mention a few. This study investigates this phenomenon using an 18 items semi structured questionnaire administered to 240 inmates of Kaduna Central Prison, and a Focused Group Discussion (FGD) with 10 Deputy Controller of Prisons (DCP) to unravel the aetiology of prison riots/ jailbreaks in Nigeria.

Key words: Prison and security; Jailbreaks; Nigerian prisons