Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), an NGO has called for a thorough investigation of circumstance that led to the killing of four inmates at Ikot Ekpene prison on Dec. 7.
The call was made by Mr Sylvester Uhaa, the Executive Director, CURE-Nigeria, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
NAN recalls that 47 inmates had escaped from the Ikot Ekpene Prison on December 7, with the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) subsequently announcing the re-capture of 14 out of the 47 inmates that escaped.
The Akwa Ibom Controller, NPS, Mr Alex Oditah had said that four of those that escaped died from bullet wounds when they tried to overpower prison officials on duty.
Uhaa while condemning the incident, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to direct the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau to order an immediate investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the killings.
He recalled a similar incident where six inmates of Abakaliki prison, Ebonyi were shot dead by security agents in August 2016, adding that Nigerians were yet to know the circumstances that led to the killings.
He added that the National Human Rights Commission that investigated the Abakaliki inmates’ killings was yet to make known its findings.
“We want to reaffirm and reiterate that prisoners are human beings and citizens of Nigeria, and as such have rights that are well protected under international law,
“These include the right to access to medical care, decent feeding, recreation, rehabilitation and reintegration, among others,
“Unfortunately, prisoners in Nigeria are denied these rights, and each time they protest against these denials, they are treated like animals and aliens,’’ Uhaa alleged.
The executive director said that CURE Nigeria rejected the account of the event as given by Oditah, adding that his account portrays the inmates as violent, dangerous and belligerent.
According to Uhaa, the CP’s account of the incident also portrayed the prison staffers who were attacked as being innocent.
He alleged that the account of the event by the CP was biased and one sided, adding that he did not mention the causes of the jail break.
Uhaa said that the prisoners have the right to protest if they are illegally held in a deplorable and dehumanising condition as it is being seen in some Nigerian prisons.
“Who will not protest if fed like a dog? Who will not protest if held in an overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell and forced to sleep on a bare floor without a blanket in this cold?
“Who will not protest if he or she has no access to medical care when he or she is sick?
“Citizens of every civilized and democratic society, including people in prison, have the right to air their grievances when treated unfairly and unjustly and every government has an obligation to listen to those grievances and seek ways of addressing them.
“But sometimes, when prisoners in Nigeria air their grievances, armed guard are called in to brutally silence them,’’ he alleged.
He however called for immediate investigation of the matter to establish the true picture of what happen and punish those found guilty while putting in place mechanism to prevent future occurrence.
He added that the investigation panel should consist of people with integrity and proven track record. (NAN)