More than 400 inmates of the Kuje Maximum prison in Abuja are on the run after a daring attack by armed men, suspected of being members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS) – better known as Boko Haram – on Tuesday, July 5.

It is believed the insurgents wanted to free their fellow comrades being held in the prison.

Addressing journalists outside the prison, Shuaib Belgore, the permanent secretary at the interior ministry, confirmed that a security officer was killed and three others wounded in the raid.

He said the armed men had gone to the prison “specifically for their co-conspirators”.

Because some of the insurgents were being held in the general prison population, many others who were not members of the JAS or other insurgency groups also escaped.

The prison service said in a statement that 879 inmates fled. Most were recaptured, but it said there were 443 still at large.

Four inmates were dead and 16 others wounded, it said.

On Twitter, Mubarak Umar quoted Sadeeq Shehu, a military and security expert, as saying that he went to the prison to assess the existing measures at Kuje.

His findings were alarming.

He said the prison was classified as Medium Security, meaning it was supposed to hold inmates whose escape would pose just a moderate risk to the community and/or inmates with only a moderate capacity to break out of jail.

Although designed to hold 560 inmates, the prison was holding more than 900, so there was less supervision.

He said the main access road leading to the main gate was covered by trees and overgrown bushes such that one’s approach was effectively covered from the sight of sentries at the gate even in daylight.

The perimeter wall height was lower than it should be and did not have the recommended three coils of razor wire, one on top of the other.

There was no inner fence line and the walls were made of ordinary cement and block instead of thick reinforced concrete or precast walls.

The two observation towers were not high enough with line of sight covered by trees and thick bushes.

He said the security lights did not fit specifications and were off at the time of the break-in. He did not know if this was a normal power outage, deliberate action or if there was no standby power.

There were many inconsistencies, depending on whom he spoke to.

There were no wounded or dead attackers left behind which, he said, lent credence to the claim that the armed defenders ran away without returning effective fire.

And, he said, a divisional police station 2.5km away could not provide reinforcements, meaning there was no contingency plan in place.

Umar Kyari, a resident in Abuja, told RNI reporter Aisha Jamal that the attack was planned to release fellow insurgents detained in the prison.

“The attack occurred around 10pm. The insurgents bombed the prison gates, burnt vehicles and set the prisoners free. They knew their people were detained in the prison and they wanted to get them out of there. There were many attackers who easily got through the security and forced their way into the prison.”

News agency Reuters said the raid highlighted Nigeria’s security challenges, raising fears that insurgents were venturing from their enclaves in the northeast, where armed insurgents and gangs were rife.

It said there were charred wreckage remains of several vehicles with bullet holes.

Reuters said President Muhammadu Buhari, on his way to his hometown Daura to prepare for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, visited the prison, where he questioned the prison’s intelligence system and demanded a report on the attack.

On Wednesday, a presidential convoy, carrying security guards and others, was abushed on its way to Katsina State, Buhari’s hometown.

The president was not in the convoy.

Reuters quoted a presidential spokesman as saying: “The attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and security personnel accompanying the convoy.”

Kyari said: “We residents are living in fear, we are no longer safe. It shows that the government has failed in its responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of individuals.”

James Gala, a conflict analyst in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, told RNI that security was deteriorating in Nigeria.

“The question is: What route did the insurgents take to get into the federal capital territory and to attack the maximum prison? Armed uprisings keep occurring in Nigeria, leaving the country confused about the state of the insurgency.

“In the security context, there is no single finger to point at, whether it is the government’s fault, the insurgents or other agents.

“Nigeria has experienced different armed conflicts from the Niger delta militia crisis to the farmer-herder crisis, the Boko Haram insurgency, kidnappings, cattle rustlers, banditry and now civil war between Fulani and Hausas in Zamfara State. Crimes are happening all over. The security crises keep evolving, serially weakening the security system of Nigeria.”

Gala claimed that some put the escalating attacks down to being a political move to foil the upcoming 2023 Nigerian elections; others said the government was negligent about security; while still others claimed it was pure terrorism. He said it was not clear that all these attacks were being committed only by Nigerians. He believed that there could be “elements” from outside the country who were assisting or taking part in the insecurity happenings in Nigeria.

“The authorities should sit down together and examine the security measures now in place to see how they can be improved. They should do whatever it takes because it is the sole responsibility of the government to protect every citizen of Nigeria,” he said.

“As a matter of urgency, the media, traditional and religious leaders, Nigerian security agencies, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, political leaders and business tycoons, among others, need to convene urgently to find ways to avoid the escalating attacks.

“Lives are lost almost on daily basis; it is clear now that every Nigerian is responsible for his/her own safety. An example is in Zamfara State where civilians have been urged to get a gun licence and carry a firearm for self-defence. I’m not convinced that is the best option and it could eventually come back to haunt civilians.”

Gala said that if the attacks and insecurity persisted in the country, it could motivate and encourage perpetrators to continue and even escalate the spiralling onslaughts because they were seen to be getting away with it without punishment or any significant efforts to stop them.

AISHA SD JAMAL