Buhari Dissatisfied with Kuje Security Custodial Intelligence System

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed dissatisfaction with the intelligence system and its application at the Abuja Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje.

He stated this on Wednesday while speaking to journalists during his visit to the correctional facility, which came under attack by terrorists last night.

“I am disappointed with the intelligence system,” President Buhari was quoted as saying in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. “How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, and the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, briefed the President about the incident shortly after he arrived at the prison.

The bombed-out section and the records office, which had been set on fire, were both shown to President Buhari by the two men, who also claimed that the invaders had then attacked every cell housing Boko Haram insurgents.

He was also informed that although none of the 63 terrorists was located after the attack, the documents had been backed up, so they were not lost.

The President was also informed that the security forces had recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others were still unaccounted for and that rapid work was underway to recapture them.

Shehu noted that President Buhari, like most Nigerians, was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack.

“How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack?” the President queried. “How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for?

“How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?”

The President was accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said he was expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident at the end of the visit.