Interior Minister Fault Calls for Resignation
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said he would not resign because of the frequent jailbreaks across the country.
Aregbesola stated this while addressing State House Correspondents after Wednesday, the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Aregbesola, whose ministry oversees the Nigeria Correctional Service, noted that the attacks were successful not because it was not prepared but through several factors.
He added that some prison officials died defending the custodial centers, which he said was the highest form of honor for the country.
According to him, “Imo was in April this year. Kabba was in September. Biology was in October, and Jos was in November. Those captured the attacks. As painful as those attacks were, very painful, nobody will want the end of justice to be so vulnerable.
“The custodial facilities are the end of criminal justice administration. So, morally, the state owes itself the responsibility of safe custody that must not be violated.
“On that account alone, we must appreciate the enormity of any successful attack on custodial facilities. And I so do. But I want us to put these things in the context of our security situation.
“When our best does not suffice, it’s no longer a question of your inability to make preparation or failure for preparation or preparedness. It’s just that you couldn’t hold the defense at that instance. And several factors are responsible for this.
“What I can assure Nigerians is this. Yes, as contextual as these attacks and the successes such criminals have, we are upping our game. We will not allow it; we will prevent any opportunistic attack and even make it impossible. That is what the state must do.
“We are working with all arms of government, particularly the security, to make our custodial facilities impregnable. We will not rest until that is achieved. So, that’s the assurance I’ll give to Nigerians.
“As to whether it calls for my resignation. I still don’t see any need for that because it’s not for lack of preparedness that the attacks were successful. No.”
“Also, the FEC has approved N965.9 million for the purchase of 49 operational vehicles for us by the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS). Aregbesola said the cars, which would be procured from local manufacturers, would complement the ones already in use by the Correctional Service, he added.
