Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu has hinted that the House upon resumption from recess will likely summon relevant government appointees to provide answers on circumstances surrounding the attack on Kuje correctional facility in Abuja the nation’s capital.
Suspected criminals had last week attacked the facility, freeing hundreds of awaiting trial inmates including terrorists in the custody.
Reacting to the development while featuring on a radio programme, Ben Kalu Mandate monitored by ABN TV in Umuahia on Tuesday, the Bende federal constituency representative said the House has concluded arrangements to pay a visit to the facility to ascertain the level of damage done and make appropriate recommendations.
The lawmaker who is also a member of the House Committee on Prisons said if states are given the opportunity to legislate on Correctional services which my bill on transferring it from the exclusive list to the concurrent list proposes , there will be a better management of these facilities as some of the incidents of jailbreak will be dealt with.
He added that the congestion of prisons across the country has exposed inmates to health hazards as well as conditions that are not reformatory, maintaining that people who have committed lesser offences once the constitutional amendment process is completed will stay in prisons managed within the confines of State governments while those who have committed more serious offences will be remanded in federal prisons, akin to what you see in the developed climes .
While expressing regret over the attack on Kuje prison, he said if the constitutional amendment process is concluded, such incidents will be mitigated as more effective security system will be put in place while correctional measures will be available for inmates.
He ended by saying that definitely, committee incharge of correctional services in the house has been given a matching order by the speaker and the leadership of the house to visit the facility within this week and before resumption to give a feed back to the house . Members of the committee has been asked to suspend their holidays to attend to this issue of national importance.
