The federal government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, is taking steps to address the ongoing problem of jailbreaks in the country. The most recent and high-profile incident occurred in September 2022 at Kuje, Abuja, where hundreds of inmates, including high-profile terror suspects and hardened criminals, were freed by armed gunmen.
In response, the president has approved the construction of six ultramodern correctional facilities in various states, including a 3,000-capacity facility currently under construction in Karshi, on the border between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State.
This new facility, along with the others, is being financed through a special intervention fund approved by the president and is part of the government’s reform programme to transform the Nigerian prison system from a punitive to a correctional one.
The correctional centre, presently under construction in Karshi, is a 3,000-capacity facility that will be able to accommodate both male and female inmates, and provide offices for officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
The project, which is being financed through a special intervention fund approved by President Buhari, is expected to be completed and commissioned before the president’s term ends in May this year.
The construction of these new facilities is a major step forward in the reform programme undertaken by the Buhari administration, which had earlier seen the renaming of the Nigerian Prison Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
However, there are concerns about the location of one of these facilities, which is currently under construction at Karshi.
Reports have surfaced that there is a quarry site located in the middle of the NCoS facility, which is a cause for concern as the constant blasting and crushing of rocks is not safe for any type of residential or official accommodation, let alone a security zone. A quarry company has claimed that it legally acquired the site, which is a solid mineral area under the control of the federal government, and is administered through the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral Development.
While the Federal Capital Territory Development Administration (FCTA) initially allocated the plot to NCoS, it was later discovered that the allocation was made in error, and that the company’s claim to the land is in line with the Land Use Act of 1978, Sections 44 (3) of the 1999 Construction, and Section 1 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.
In light of national security, the quarry company is willing to relocate to another site, but is asking for compensation for the loss of its business.
Operators in the mining sector, such as Mining Entrepreneurship Stakeholders (MES), have appealed to the federal government to compensate the company for the loss of its business, which has been grounded as a result of the takeover of its premises by the NCoS.
In the considered opinion of this newspaper, while the Buhari administration’s plan to construct new ultramodern correctional facilities is a welcome development that will help change the negative narrative surrounding Nigeria’s prison management system, it is important to address the issue of the quarry site in Karshi and find a solution that is fair to all parties involved.
Furthermore, the new strategy for ultramodern correctional facility is a step in the right direction to combat the problem of jailbreaks and improve Nigeria’s prison management system, but it is important to ensure that the construction of these facilities does not cause unnecessary harm to any stakeholder, like the case of the quarry company in Karshi.
The quarry is a massive modern multimillion Naira business rated among the best three in Nigeria because of its computerised technology and electrical engineering sophistication. These are indigenous investments owned by Nigerians but now reportedly going bankrupt.
Also, workers in that company whose jobs have been taken away are also Nigerians whose means of livelihood have been adversely affected as a result of the alleged takeover of the premises.
As a newspaper, we urge the federal government to do the needful and compensate the company while ensuring that the issue is resolved in a timely manner, in consideration of both national security and the rights of the quarry company.
