Protest broke out at the Kuje Prisons near Abuja on Thursday over alleged preferential treatment of three Lebanese inmates by officials of the facility.
The protest took place just as the
Defence Headquarters said that over 1,000 suspected members of the
Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, were in detention facilities in
the country.
The Lebanese prisoners – Mustapha
Fawaz, Abdallah Thahani and Talal Ahmed Rodo – believed to be members
of an international terrorist group, Hezbollah, were said to have been
allowed to use a particular area of the prison ground for the Eid-fitri prayers while other inmates, including Boko Haram suspects, were restricted to another place.
The Lebanese are standing trial at a Federal High Court, Abuja, for terrorism and illegal importation of firearms.
The protesting inmates destroyed some amenities, including water pipes, electric cables and cell windows.
A source told one of our
correspondents that the angry inmates also splashed water on some of the
prison officials who ran for their safety.
A Boko Haram inmate serving a life sentence was said to have fainted during the melee.
Our source said, “The tension was
brought under control by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of
Operations, Mr. Segun Bewaji, who attended to the convict that
fainted. But the inmates in the single cells were restive and refused
to be pacified by the DCG.”
The Lebanese suspects were moved to
the prison on August 2, 2013 based on an application by their lawyer,
Ahmed Raji(SAN), who claimed that they were no longer comfortable in
the custody of the State Security Service.
The court had granted the application and the suspects were promptly transferred to Kuje Prisons.
When contacted, the Prisons Public
Relations Officer, Ope Fatinikun, claimed that the protest had nothing
to do with the Lebanese inmates.
He added that it was caused by two groups struggling to use a particular place for the Eid-fitri worship.
“I don’t want to give anybody names,
but the incident was caused by two groups (of inmates) who wanted to use
a particular place for their prayers; but the situation has been
brought under control. We talked to them and they saw reason with us,
“he said.
Also on Thursday, the Director of
Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said at a news
conference in Abuja that “ over 1,000 of the Boko Haram insurgents
were arrested in the process of engagement with weapons in their hands
and they are being detained.”
He also said that some of the members of the sect had been killed in action.
He was silent on the casualty figure
on the side of the Military Joint Task Force since emergency rule was
declared in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Olukolade, who justified the state of
emergency in the three states, said the gains of the operations
would be clear when viewed against the backdrop of the security
situation in the states before the exercise.
He stated that no part of the country
was under the control of the insurgents contrary to the situation that
prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to declare emergency rule in the
affected states.
The Defence spokesman said that a
large quantity of arms and ammunition as well as raw materials for the
production of Improvised Explosive Devices were recovered from the
arrested inurgents.
He added that the drastic reduction
in bombings outside Borno, Yobe and Adamawa was a clear reflection of
the rate of success of the ongoing security operations in the three
states.
Olukolade said that the few incidents
and the attack on soft targets were meant to send a message that the
insurgents were still around.
He said, “The level of success is
predicated on the President’s directive to stop the incident. The rate
of bombings outside the three states has reduced in drastic terms. You
may still see skirmishes; but those are isolated cases to announce
that they are still around.
“Before, these people took over
government facilities and converted them to their use. Today, we can
report that that has been completely reversed; there is no part of this
country where terrorists have freedom of action.
“The special forces have also recovered
large quantity of arms and ammunition from them in the Sambisa forest
where they had their biggest operational base.”
Meanwhile, the Presidential Committee on
Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the
North has said it will intensify discussions with the Boko Haram
Sect.
The Chairman of the committee and
Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Alhaji Tanimu
Turaki (SAN), gave the assurance in his Sallah message on Thursday in
Abuja.
He said in a statement by his Special
Assistant on Media, Mr. Okey Muogbo, that more insurgents were
expected to accept the dialogue option.
Turaki said, “The business of ensuring
that we have a more peaceful and secure society is our collective
responsibility and I pray that God will guide and assist us in this
Herculean task which my committee has been charged to bring to a
successful end.”
According to him, members of the
amnesty committee are aware of the enormous challenges in the dialogue
process. He added that as patriotic Nigerians, “we are fully committed
to discharging the duty of ensuring that peace returns to the North and
by extension, to the whole country.”
He urged insurgent group members who
had not yet accepted dialogue to use the occasion of the Sallah to
“irrevocably accept the dialogue option offered by the Federal
Government and come to the negotiating table to air their grievances and
discuss a peaceful end to the crisis in the North.”
“The search for a permanent solution to
the security challenges in the North requires the efforts and commitment
of all Nigerians”, Turaki stated.
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