29th October, 2021
By Yahaya Isah
The Federal Government has inaugurated a vulnerability audit of the Nigerian Correctional Service’s (NCoS) custodial centres across the country.
Mr Sola Fasure, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Aregbesola noted that the audit will identify the fault lines in the security setup and penetration levels of the custodial centres.
He stated that the vulnerability audit would “identify the weakness in our security setup and will help to put in place an effective structure to assist us in better securing our facilities against future external aggression”.
“In the past, the challenges to the facilities were usually internal insurrections which our system had been primed to deal with.
“But this new challenge, starting with the #EndSARS riots of 2020, is an armed invasion by gunmen, in large numbers, bearing sophisticated weapons and military-grade ordinances.
“They overrun the place, blow up huge holes on the perimeter fence and overpower our security system. We are determined to eliminate the threat from these attackers and ensure that our facilities are no longer vulnerable,” he stated.
According to the minister, it is sacrilegious for anyone to bridge any custodial facility in the country.
“Anyone who breached the custodial facilities is simply toiling with the sovereignty of Nigeria and must not live to regret such actions.
“NCoS stands at the heart and end of Administration of Criminal Justice System. It is a critical and essential element in keeping those the court thinks must be kept away from our society. You must do all in your power to defend it,” he charged.
He also said that the custodial centres represent Nigeria’s sovereignty, being a sacred institution that signified its authority.
The minister said anyone whose intention is to breach the centres, is simply testing the might and will of the country and does not deserve It and will live to regret such actions.
Reacting to the exercise to be carried out by the NCoS, the Controller-General of the service, Haliru Nababa, noted that teams would be inaugurated in each of the six geopolitical zones and an interim report submitted in the next week.
“Immediately we leave this venue, we are heading back to the office to operationalise this assignment. In the next week, we are submitting an interim report of the audit and the full report will be submitted in eight weeks.
“We are aware of the embarrassment the frequent external attacks have on our reputation as a service and as a country.
“Therefore, we are assuring the minister that our officers are ready to combat all attacks on our facility.
“Already, the service has sent the first batch of 150 armed personnel for training at a military formation in Kontagora. Others are billed to complete their training in the next couple of weeks,” Nababa said.
NAN