Nigeria prison break has implications for Ghana – Prison Service
The Ghana Prisons Service has said the massive jailbreak in neighbouring Nigeria has security implications for Ghana.
According to the Service, because Ghana, just like Nigeria, is an Anglophone country, the former Gold Coast will be the best hideout for any of the escapees.
Last week, at least 1,800 inmates escaped during a prison break in southeastern Imo state.
The incident, believed to be the biggest jailbreak in Nigerian history, happened on Monday when gunmen used explosives to blast open the gates and other parts of the Owerri correctional facility.
Prison authorities say 1,844 inmates escaped.
Only six have returned voluntarily.
There has been no claim of responsibility so far, but Nigerian police authorities have pinned the attack on the secessionist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Speaking on the development, the PRO of the Ghana Prisons Service, Chief Superintendent Courage Atsem, told the host of Accra100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom, Kwame Appiah Kubi, that it has security implications for Ghana.
He said: “The prison break has implications for Ghana because after Nigeria, coming toward our end, you’ll meet Benin, which is a French-speaking country; you’ll meet Togo, which is a French-speaking country. So, from Nigeria, which is an English-speaking country, if you run away from Nigeria, and you want to find a haven in another country, directly you’ll be heading to Ghana because if you come to Togo or Benin, you’ll not be able to speak French but if you come to Ghana you’ll be more comfortable because we speak English than the two French-speaking countries. So, it has huge implications for us as a country.”
“If I were any of the inmates who ran away, if I should find any country to hide, Ghana will be my best choice,” he added.
Asked if Ghana’s prisons were safe to avoid such breaks, Mr Atsem said yes.
He explained: “The last time we experienced an attack or prison break was in 2010 when some inmates in Sekondi tried to break jail and the majority were recaptured and three managed to escaped and till now, we couldn’t capture the three. It is not only physical structures that make prisons safe, we can talk of dynamic and static security but apart from the structures, the human beings there, the personnel who are there to ensure safety of the facility and inmates also play a major role and I’ll say that on that score the country we’ve done so well over the years.”
“We’re up to the task (to protect prisons) we’ve beefed up defects in the structural arrangements with the human security,” he added.
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