PHOTOS: Security threats at Kano custodial centre – Death row inmates

Kano Central Prison, Kurmawa behind the Emir’s palace now known as Nigeria Custodial centre was established in 1910 with a capacity of about 750 inmates but presently accommodates over 1800 inmates.

A breakdown of the inmates shows that about 1,200 are awaiting trial, close to 400 are serving various jail term while over 150 are on death row.

Those on death row that are less than 10% of the total inmates are currently putting the lives of Nigerians at stake despite being incarcerated due to access to prohibited items smuggled into their cells.

Recently, a staff of the Correctional facility Aminu Ibrahim and an illicit drug dealer were intercepted and arrested with marijuana of 4.5kg and eight mobile phones with name tags of those to be given the phones inside the facility.

However, sources told Solacebase that smuggling of prohibited items into the custodian centre is getting out of hand, especially with those in the condemned cell having access to mobile phones to coordinate crimes even from their cell and use illicit drugs at will.

Meanwhile, in the last three weeks, the situation has been tough with efforts of the authority to check these security lapses and ensure sanity in the facility.

These and many others are conditions those on death row will not accept.

Although the law guiding the facility allows for inmates to receive specific visitors and make phone calls to their families through the welfare office of the centre.

This, the condemned inmates detest as they are used to the collaboration of some staff of the facility to smuggle into their cell, mobile phones to the extent of posting pictures on social media and chatting with their gangs and coordinate crimes, according to an investigation.

A source at the facility told Solacebase that most of the inmates on death row have spent close to 20 years in the centre and many of them were transferred from other states to Kano.

‘’ Most of them are hardened criminals with crimes ranging from murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, etc and were brought here from other states. While those from Kano are not transferred elsewhere,” said the source.

‘’Some of them have been here since the year 2001, or 8 to 10 years. So they have understood the working of the facility both in and out. Hence they hardly want to obey rules as some of them even phone their sponsors to effect a transfer of staff they don’t like.’’

So with all this situation, the authority decided to ensure control by confiscating most of the prohibited items after several searches of the cells and surveillance on staff to check compromise.

”So far more than 200 mobile phones have been seized from the inmates as I speak with you with close to 10 kg of illicit drugs (weeds),” said a source.

This did not go down well with the inmates on the death row as they insisted that things have to be done their way.

Read Also:EXCLUSIVE: Custodial staff, drug dealer intercepted with 4.5kg marijuana, 8 mobile phones in Kano prison

 

Solacebase gathered that the authority then had a meeting with the leaders of the inmates on death row to understand their complaints but lo and behold.

They demanded among others that all prohibited items seized must be returned to them and ensure the release of those arrested smuggling items to them both staff and their relations with DSS and NDLEA.

Also, they must be allowed to continue using a stove for personal cooking in their cell or allow female inmates to cook for them.

Similarly, the standard locking up of cells by 6.pm must be extended to 8.pm because of the fasting period. They demanded the transfer of the centre keeper and those staff already transferred be brought back.

Noting that without these demands attended to, there will be no peace in the custodial centre.

Solacebase learnt that the authority unanimously rejected their demands as it is contrary to rules of engagement. But promised to report the same to those above them.

Last Thursday, precisely, April 22^nd, the death row inmates decided to make the centre uncomfortable for all the other inmates and the staff when they created pandemonium in the evening almost leading to a jailbreak.

Solacebase investigation revealed that the professionalism displayed by the in-charge and the personnel ensured that during the pandemonium it was brought under control without loss of life or injury from both the inmates and staff nor destruction of government property.

According to a source, the authority granted amnesty to the inmates on Saturday, to submit mobile phones with them voluntarily without any sanction.

The action, the source told Solacebase led to the submission of over 30 mobile phones by some of the inmates.

When contacted, the spokesman of Custodial centre, Kano Command, DSC Musbahu Kofar-Nasarawa who confirmed the arrest of a staff and an illicit drug dealer trying to smuggle prohibited items into the centre confirmed that some illegal items were confiscated from some inmates.

Although he did not give details of the development, he noted that last Thursday pandemonium in the centre was due to the resistance of the inmates especially those on death row to obey constituted authority and submit to checks to eradicate prohibited items in the facility.