Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has ordered security officers at the nation’s correctional facilities to kill anyone who attempts to breach any of their facilities nationwide.
The minister who said this while inspecting the Agodi Custodial Centre, Ibadan, Oyo state said anyone that attempts to attack any correctional facility in the country should not live to tell the story to others.
Aregbesola also braced security officers to ensure maximum security on correctional facilities, describing the facilities as “red zone.”
He said officers must make it impossible for anyone to penetrate the facilities, adding that any attack on any correctional centre is an attack on the state and such must never be allowed again.
Aregbesola’s words: “The most important thing is the security impregnability of this facility. Make this facility impregnable.
“It is a red zone, dangerous zone. Whoever attempts to breach the security here is already dead. He must not live to tell the story. Other people will tell his or her story.
“Any effort to breach our facility is not acceptable. Don’t shoot to injure, shoot to kill. Don’t shoot to disable, shoot to kill.
“This is a total embodiment of the state to guarantee the security of the people.
“We will do our best regarding your welfare to ensure effective service. I must commend your work for not recording any case of COVID-19 in your facility.
“But most importantly, you must be effective in preventing the penetration of this facility. You must have the capacity to repel viciously any attempt to penetrate this facility.”
The New Diplomat recall that Nigeria has witnessed five major prison breaks since October, 2020. The Benin and Oko custodial centres in Edo State; the Owerri Custodial Centre in Imo State; the medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Kabba, Kogi State; as well as the Abolongo Custodial Centre have all been breached and subjected to attacks with several inmates freed in the process.
