Following the relocation of Boko Haram detainees to the
Ekwulobia Prisons in Anambra State, the military have
taken over the security of the facility.
in the Federal Government facility are no longer the exclusive
preserve of the officials of the Nigeria Prison Service.
The development is not unconnected with the calibre of the
detainees being held behind the walls of the facility.
A visit to the prison on Saturday showed that armed military
personnel were located in strategic locations around the prison.
The development has also brought some form of hardship to
residents of the host communities of the prison.
Free human and vehicular movement is no longer allowed
around the place.
Punch correspondent sighted soldiers compelling passers-by
to raise up their arms and get frisked before they were allowed
passage. Vehicles were also searched.
Residents of Anambra had last week taken to the streets
protesting against the relocation of the detainees. But the
Federal Government had reacted saying it was a mere rumour.
But happenings around the facility on Friday further learnt
credence to the report that the Boko Haram detainees had
been relocated to the quiet Anambra town.
“It is like a war situation. We no longer move freely; we don’t
even talk freely because you don’t know who is who now.
Armoured vehicles are everywhere” Stanley Ezechukwu, a
primary school teacher in the area told our correspondent.
One of the soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity said,
“We are here to ensure that the prison is not attacked by the
people who have demonstrated their resentment over the
transfer of the detainees.”
Professor Chuwuemeka Ike, the traditional Ruler of Ndikerionwu,
a neighboring community to Ekwulobia , condemned the transfer
of the detainees to the area.
He acknowledged, however that prisons transfers are normal, but maintained that with the sensitive nature of the prisoners, the
transfer of the Boko Haram detainee could have been avoided.
A press statement on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant
to Governor Willie Obiano on Media, Mr James Eze, was not
specific on whether the detainees had been relocated or not.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Uche Eze in
his reaction said the police would not want to comment on the
matter as “it is purely an affair of the Nigerian Prisons Service.”
The member representing the area in the House of
Representatives, Mrs. Eucharia Azodo however urged the Federal Government to rescind the decision in view of its security
implications on the people of her constituency.
In a statement in Awka on Saturday, Azodo said the Boko Haram detainees would be better taken care of in a maximum security
prison, arguing that Ekwulobia Prison did not have the capacity to accommodate such high risk prisoners.
She said, “The rising tension following rumours that Boko Haram
suspects were relocated from some Northern prisons to the
South-East, precisely, Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government
of Anambra State, gives me great concern.
“We all are aware of the fact that Ekwulobia Prison in Aguata
Local Government Area of Anambra State is not a maximum
security prison.
“Whereas a large number of prisoners, about 134 inmates,
are there already in a prison built to accommodate 85 inmates,
a total number of 47 Boko Haram prisoners were brought to
Ekwulobia Prison in the dead of the night of Sunday,
June 28, 2015 amidst tight security.”
The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio- cultural organisation,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has flayed the Federal Government over the
relocation.
The National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi
Okechukwu Isiguzoro who spoke with our correspondent in
Umuahia, described the action as “ exportation of terrorism to
the peaceful South-East region.”
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