Insecurity: FG drafts soldiers to Kirikiri prisons

The Federal Government yesterday took extra security measures to forestall any attack on the Kirikiri maximum and medium security prison in Lagos, with the deployment of soldiers from 149 Battalion in Lagos to beef security around the prisons. Soldiers were spotted yesterday keeping security at the main entrance of the Kirikiri Prison.  Daily Sun leant that it was not unconnected with a threat by insurgents to storm the prisons and free some of its members being detained there.

It was gathered that the insurgents had earlier threatened to storm Lagos, particularly Kirikiri prisons to free some of their members detained there. Going into the prisons barracks from Kirikiri had been restricted, as motorists were asked to state their mission and the boots of the vehicles searched by a team of prison security officials and soldiers from the 81 Division. Also at the maximum-security prisons, about 300 metres away from the main gate, the armed soldiers were spotted in a Pinzgauer High-Mobility Vehicle, keeping security in front of the prisons.

Apart from being stationed at the gate of the prisons, a detachment of soldiers were seen on Operation Mesa (OP Mesa) vehicle conducting patrols around the residential and business area of Kirikiri town. Confirming the deployment, the spokesperson of the 81 Division in Lagos, Lieutenant Colonel Kayode Ogunsanya told Daily Sun on phone that, “the reasons for deploying soldiers to Kirikiri prisons were to beef up the security arrangement already in place at the area and to forestall prisons’ break, as being experienced in other parts of the country.”

Earlier, the spokesman for the Nigerian Prisons in Lagos, Mr. Chuks Njoku had on Tuesday said security of Lagos prisons was safe from terrorist attack. Njoku, while spiking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said: “We are making everything possible to ensure we beat terrorist attacks. We have 24-hour surveillance by a group of prison and naval security agents.”

He also said that the service had improved on physical structure, by screening every car that comes into the premises. “Because of the unique nature of Lagos, every person or vehicle is screened on arrival; though we cannot disclose our strategies,” he added.