MANY residents of Kuje community in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, are currently living in fear over alleged planned attack on the medium correctional facility in town.
The ICIR gathered that the residents of different settlements under the community fled into their homes before 6:pm on Wednesday, April 1, over rumoured curfew allegedly imposed on parts of the town.
A message containing the rumour claimed there would be a restriction of movement from 6:pm to 6:am daily till further notice in areas including Wowo Garage to Chibiri village along Gwagwalada Road, Shadadi, Shetuko, and Kango parts of the town.
The rumour has been widely shared on social media platforms, including Whatsapp groups of religious bodies, namely churches and mosques, as well as other associations.
The ICIR earlier reported that soldiers had continued to occupy the area and conducted searches on uncompleted buildings and other locations since Friday, March 27.
Military personnel armed with whips and weapons were observed preventing motorists from parking along the Pasali/Shedadi Junction opposite the Prison Road.
Residents of Shetuko, a community behind the prison, have since been going through the Freedom Estate, a burden that adds about two kilometres to their journey if they are heading to the centre of Kuje, or going out of the town. Soldiers in trucks, were seen around the junction.
Some residents who spoke with The ICIR said commercial motorcyclists had doubled their fares in response to the situation. Others, who previously opted to walk due to rising petrol prices and increased transport costs, said the new restrictions had made movement significantly more difficult.
By Saturday morning, both motorcycles and vehicle were not allowed to drive through the Prison Road which leads to Shetuko community and surrounding areas around the correctional centre.
However, the Nigerian Correctional Service said the decision was part of the government’s efforts to protect lives and safeguard the critical national infrastructure.
Situation now tougher, residents say
On Wednesday, April 1, residents in Shetuko and Shedadi were seen fleeing into their homes shortly before 6:pm “to avert arrest by soldiers.”
However, all residents who spoke with The ICIR said the military officers had been civil and did not molest law-abiding citizens.
Several gun trucks are positioned in different parts of the area, with fierce-looking, gun-wielding and hooded soldiers keeping vigil day and night.
The correctional centre was previously attacked in 2022, leading to its fortification and remodeling by the Federal Government.
During that incident, the Nigerian Correctional Service reported that 879 inmates escaped, while five people, including an officer of the NSCDC and four inmates, lost their lives. The attackers, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, reportedly freed 64 of their members held at the facility.
Since the 2022 attack on the facility in Kuje, alongside several others across the nation under the late President Muhammadu Buhari administration, military has been deployed to protect correctional centres in the country.
Sources confirmed to The ICIR that the correctional centre is the first target of terrorists in the nation’s capital, as the nation is currently overwhelmed by insecurity, largely orchestrated by terrorists.
Terrorists had attacked the Nigeria Police headquarters, known as Louis Edet House, and the United Nations Building in Federal Capital Territory.
NCoS’ response to invasion
The ICIR contacted the spokesperson for the NCoS, Jane Osuji, last Saturday, over the development. She said the military had been protecting the facility and their presence was normal.
“Security agencies, if you have been covering them, you don’t expect them to give you information about their operations. It is for your protection. It’s not everything that’s supposed to be out there, for the benefit of the people. Because of the current insecurity around the country, we just need to trust and believe that they have our interest at heart. They are working for us; it is for our benefit.
“Kuje Custodial Centre is safe. There is nothing that is unusual about soldiers being in and around the custodial centre. They have been there with us. As far as I am concerned, as I am speaking with you, there is no emergency or security concerns other than the fact that the custodial centre has to be protected as required.”