Riot in Kirikiri Prisons inmates protest over poor condition

Hell was let loose yes­terday at Kirikiri Medium Prison, La­gos as inmates went

on a violent protest over what they said was highhandedness of the new Deputy Comptrol­ler General. According to some inmates, several of their col­leagues used that as opportuni­ty to escape, even as authorities said no prisoner escaped. How­ever, the prison’s spokesper­son, Ope Fatinikun, told Sat­urday Sun that the true picture would be clear when counts are taken of the inmates.

As at the time Saturday Sun correspondents visited the pris­on, heavily-armed security men, comprising prison guards, army, navy and police personnel were seen guarding the area and re­stricting movement of people in and outside the barracks where Kirikiri Medium Prison is lo­cated. The fierce-looking mili­tary men also cordoned off all entry and exit routes leading to the prison.

Civilians and vehicles were not allowed into the premises, except those who had proof that they were resident in the bar­racks. Meanwhile, every other vehicle that was exiting the bar­racks was thoroughly searched.

Shop-owners and passersby, who were forced to seek alter­native routes, told Saturday Sun that it was actually an attempted jailbreak.

They were peeved by the max­imum security the armed officers mounted. One of the residents of the area, who could not access his house, complained: “This is not the route prisoners take when they are escaping because of the heavy security presence around the area leading to the prison. You also have a police station facing the prison directly, and this is why you hardly see them passing through the main gates. Escapee inmates go through the bush behind the prison. That is where the search team should concentrate their efforts and not here.”

Saturday Sun gathered that the inmates were feeling disen­chanted with what they held as highhandedness of the new Dep­uty Comptroller at the Medium Security Prison, DCP Kayode Odeyemi. They alleged that he stripped inmates of all the privi­leges allowed them by previous Comptrollers.

An inmate, who spoke to this paper, explained that before Odeyemi’s arrival, inmates were allowed to use their own genera­tor sets, cook their meals, make use of mobile phones and other personal effects and convenienc­es that made their stay in the prison comfortable. However, they complained, Odeyemi with­drew these as soon as he took over.

“Some of us that still have our phones had to hide it,” said an inmate who did not want his name mentioned. He told this paper that some of his fellow inmates used the riot as opportu­nity to escape, adding: “I would have joined them to escape if I was sentenced to life imprison­ment or have more years to stay here. I have only two months and it would be foolish if I attempt to run away. I can tell you that some of the inmates here have escaped and they will not come back.”

When reminded that most of the so-called privileges are ille­gal, the inmate retorted: “Ever since I was detained, we hardly have light and the prison authori­ties are not ready to find a solu­tion to it.

The food that they give us over here is very bad and not fit for human consumption. This is why we have to provide some of these amenities by ourselves. Without access to some of these things you referred to as privi­leges, many of us would have died long time ago. Look, life is hell here without those privi­leges.”

Another awaiting-trial inmate, who refused to disclose his pres­ent location, also confirmed that some of the inmates escaped dur­ing the riot.

“If the new comptroller wants to enforce any law, he should en­sure that he provides all the nec­essary facilities that will make the prison fit for human habita­tion. We are not animals. He is giving preference to those in­mates who are on his list, unlike the former Deputy Comptroller who was a little bit liberal and showed some human consider­ation in her dealings with us,” he said.

Confirming the incident, Pris­on’s National Public Relations Officer, Ope Fatinikun, said that, indeed, there was riot at the Kirikiri Medium Prison. He add­ed, however, that the situation had been brought under control.

He explained that the riot re­sulted from inmates’ protest against delay by prison authori­ties to replace their ceiling fans.

“All the inmates are intact and prisons authorities are currently working on resolving the issue that led to the riot. Meanwhile, further investigation into the riot is ongoing, to know what could have led to it,” he said.

Source SUN