Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, on Monday, ordered prisons officials to kill any criminal element who attempts to attack any of the correctional centres in the country.
The minister gave the order on Monday, while inspecting the Agodi Custodial Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Aregbesola, former Osun State governor, said that officers should repel those who attempt to penetrate the facility, stating that it is a red zone.
He added that an attack on any correctional centre would mean an attack on the state and must never be allowed again.
The minister said, “The most important thing is the security of this facility. Make this facility impregnable.
“It is a red zone, dangerous zone. Whoever attempts to breach the security here is already dead. He must not live to tell the story. Other people will tell his or her story.
“Any effort to breach our facility is not acceptable. Don’t shoot to injure, shoot to kill. Don’t shoot to disable, shoot to kill.
“This is a total embodiment of the state to guarantee the security of the people.
“We will do our best regarding your welfare to ensure effective service. I must commend your work for not recording any case of COVID-19 in your facility.
“But most importantly, you must be effective in preventing the penetration of this facility. You must have the capacity to repel viciously any attempt to penetrate this facility.”
Aregbesola said that in a recent ministerial press briefing at the Presidential Villa, 4,860 inmates of the Nigerian Correctional Centres escaped between 2020 and 2021, following successful jailbreaks in Benin, Owerri, and Oyo, among others.
He added that only 954 inmates out of the 4,860 that escaped had been rearrested.
