NPS Pledges Better Welfare Packages for Prison Officials

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Controller General of Nigerian Prison Service (NPS), Mr Ja’afaru Ahmed, has promised to improve welfare package and medical facilities in the service.

Mr Ahmed made the disclosure at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri while commiserating with the victim of the recent attack on prisoners by yet to be identified gunmen within the premises of Owerri High Court.

Mr Ja’afaru who had had also visited other inmates being treated in Owerri Prisons Clinic for various degrees of bullet wounds, commended the timely response of other security agencies during the attack.

He assured members of the public that the fleeing fugitives would be rearrested in no distant time.   Mr Ahmed thanked the Imo State Governor, Mr Rochas Okorocha, for offering financial rewards for information that would aid the arrest of fugitives, appealing to the public to provide useful information that would lead to the arrest of the notorious criminal, Mr Chibueze Henry Oyenkachi, aka Vampire.

The prisons boss also had audience with the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Mr Eze Madumere, at the Government House and the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Pascal Obinna Nnaji, whose premises the unfortunate incident occurred.

The Chief Judge promised to continue to support the course of speedy trial of inmates with a view to decongesting the prison and mitigate security concerns usually associated with managing suspects in custody.

It would be recalled that on the 27th of January, 2017 at about 1000hrs, 58 pre-trial detainees who were taken to Owerri High Court in 2 Black Maria Court Duty Vehicles were attacked as the inmates disembarked from the vehicles within the premises of the court.

The gunmen who were said to have strategically positioned themselves in the premises opened fire and shot sporadically hitting 5 inmates in the process. The escort wardens in collaboration with other sister security agencies were able secure 49 of of the inmates and returned them to safe custody.

Unfortunately, a notorious criminal, Chibueze Henry Oyenkachi, aka Vampire on whose behalf the hoodlums are suspected to have carried out the dastardly act, and 7 other prisoners escaped.

Owerri prison was built in 1905 with an intake capacity of 540 inmates but as at the time of the incident the prison had a population of 2,260 prisoners. Out of this number 2,044 are awaiting trial.