A Callous Connivance -By Kene Obiezu

For General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff from the minority Southern Kaduna in Kaduna which has borne the brunt of banditry in NIgeria, death is never far away. Apart from witnessing the death of his soldiers in a couple of operations around the country, and forcefully debunking a ludicrous rumour about his death, the CDS recently had cause to speak openly about the terrorist attack on the Medium Security Correctional Facility in Kuje that had left Nigerians shocked and shaken last year.

On July 5, 2022, armed Boko Haram terrorists broke into the Medium Security correctional center in Kuje, a suburb of the FCT.

By the time their chilling temerity subsided after hours, they had successfully freed some of the highest profile members from the facility, as well as shredded the mystique surrounding the FCT as a safe space.

While on a visit to the facility, it was a shocked President Muhammadu Buhari that lamented the attack, wondering why there were no CCTV cameras in the prison.
More than a year later, it appears Nigeria is still in wonderland over what truly happened in the facility, especially regarding the conspiracy and collusion that crystallized into an attack so brazen that it left Nigeria’s seat of power rocking.

The CDS has become the latest to wonder, pointing his powerful fingers at some prison officials whom he accused of colluding with the terrorists.

Even the dead in Nigeria now know that a country that was once one of Africa’s safest is now one of its most dangerous. It started with the Boko Haram metamorphosis of 2009 and has today continued in the reimagination and reinvention of banditry that has left countless vulnerable communities on the brink.

Who are those who may have colluded with the terrorists who attacked Kuje? To answer this question, history immediately holds out an indictment to Nigeria. It grates to remember that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) once handed Nigeria a list of those it accused of sponsoring terrorism in the country. Until this day, it is not known that the powers that be have done enough to stamp out the menace.

As terrorists have cut through swathes of land, scything down lives and livelihoods, Nigeria has been unprepared for what has come to it at the most inopportune of moments. Most damaging, the country has been exposed as flatfooted and weak. It has proven costly.

In the Igbo country, it is often said that it is at the lead of the home-based rat that the bush rat knows where fish is kept in the house. It brings to the fore the issue of sabotage, specifically the number of people who have bored their way into the system and are bent on destroying it from within.
How can prison wardens in any sane country connive with armed terrorists to breach the security of such a prison and spring some of the most dangerous terrorists Nigeria has ever known?

Since no less a person than the Chief of Defence Staff has confirmed that such a breach was brokered by people from within the correctional service, what has been done to hold anyone to account?
As a country, Nigeria reeks of impunity.

The level of impunity that obtains in Nigeria today is as staggering as it was once unthinkable. In a country where people get away with all manner of egregious crimes, it is particularly chilling that a figure so highly placed within Nigeria’s security agencies can make such damning revelations.

Thankfully, there has been a lull in security breaches within the country since the new administration assumed power.

But there must be accountability. Nigerians deserve to know by name, and in shame, all those responsible for insecurity within the country.

At the height of the surge of terrorism in Nigeria, entire communities were displaced as ruthlessly as lives and livelihoods were wiped out. From all those that had a hand in it, Nigerians deserve a measure of accountability.

While it is a good thing that a good number of communities are beginning to sleep with their eyes closed, forceful measures must be taken to ensure that security in Nigeria remains sustainable.

It is the only way Nigeria can grow. People that once knew peace but have since known only turmoil should again experience what it means to leave in peace and quiet.

To reach this desirable state, all those who facilitated the Kuje Prison attack must be brought to book as should all those who have continued to facilitate insecurity in Nigeria.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com