By Onilede Titi Faith
Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says jailbreak incidents have declined under President Bola Tinubu, crediting biometric systems for improved inmate tracking.
Speaking in an interview, Tunji-Ojo noted that 12 of the country’s 246 custodial centres are undergoing rehabilitation, with many dating back over a century to the colonial era.
Facilities like the Suleja Medium-Security Prison; built in 1914 to hold 250 inmates, now house nearly double that number, heightening overcrowding and security risks.
He recalled the April 2024 Suleja jailbreak, when heavy rains collapsed the perimeter wall and 119 inmates escaped, as a wake-up call for urgent reforms.
Plans include relocating some prisons to safer sites, decongesting facilities, where 67% of inmates are awaiting trial and deploying more technology to strengthen security and operations.
