Nigerians are sharply divided over the shoot-to-kill order by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbosola, to security agencies on persons who attempt to break into correctional centres.
The minister issued the order on January 17 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital while inspecting a correctional centre in Agodi.
He said attacks on correctional facilities were aimed at the state, adding, “The most important thing is the security impregnability of these facilities.
“It is a red zone and dangerous. Whoever attempts to breach 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.”
It was not the first time the minister would issue such order. In April and October 2021, the minister had given similar orders to security agencies.
While many Nigerians criticise the latest order, others said it was necessary to stop the spate of jailbreaks in the country.
In the last one year, Nigeria has suffered a series of jailbreaks that led to the escape of thousands of inmates despite security measures in place.
On April 5, a large group of hoodlums attacked the Nigerian Correction Service Custodial Centre in Owerri, Imo State with rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and other weapons, freeing about 1,844 inmates.
On April 15, an attempted jailbreak at the Nigerian Correctional Service Custodial Centre in Ubiaja, Esan South-East Local Government of Edo State, was foiled by security forces.
Similarly, there were attempted jailbreaks at custodial centres in Bauchi, Bauchi State; Kurmawa, Kano State; Benin City, Edo State between April and October 2021, which were foiled by security agents.
On September 13, some 266 inmates escaped from the Nigerian Correctional Service in Kabba in the Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State after suspected terrorists attacked the facility.
On October 22, the Abolongo Custodial Centre in Oyo State was attacked and 837 inmates escaped from the facility.
This was followed by the jailbreak of November 28 at the custodial centre in Jos, Plateau State when gunmen forced their way and freed 262 inmates. The operation led to the death of 10 inmates as security agents engaged the gunmen.
Experts have pointed to the condition of correctional centers and facilities in Nigeria as the cause of the frequent jailbreaks.
Some of the deficits in the correctional facilities, which are not the same in other modern facilities, include location in densely inhabited or crowded areas, inadequate cell rooms and lack of surveillance equipment.
So far, the reform of custodial centres in Nigeria, which received a boost on August 15, 2019, after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigerian Correctional Service Act into law, appears to be in name alone.
Minister’s order has no backing of law – Lawyers
Lawyers who spoke with Daily Trust on Sunday said the shoot-to-kill order by the minister was a breach of the provisions of sections 33 and 45 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999. Section 33(1) provides that every person has a right to life, hence no one shall be deprived of his life intentionally, “save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria. “
Hameed Ajibola Jimoh said, “It is a trite position of our law that the right to life is a constitutional right; and even a person charged with a capital offence is still entitled to certain numbers of his fundamental rights.
“Therefore, in my humble view, the shoot-to-kill order purportedly issued by the minister, having not formed one of the exceptions that could warrant taking the life of a person under sections 33 and 45 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), is unconstitutional, illegal and of no effect. See section 1 of the constitution as amended.”
In the same vein, Buhari Yusuf said although the security situation in the country was critical, it is not sufficient to disregard the constitutional provision on how the life of an individual could be taken away.
“I think that at this level of our development, it would be cumbersome for this order to receive the backing of the law,” he said.
On the balance between protecting the integrity of federal facilities and human rights, Yusuf said a security agent could only use the rifle when there is reason to believe that the life of the officer is in danger, not just because they want to destroy public facilities.
“The judgement of the security agencies in the use of firearms must go in tandem with the requirement of the law.
“Out of desperation, we shouldn’t do something that will worsen our situation and make us lose our sanity amid insecurity and cause security agencies to lose the confidence of members of the society. Life is very sacrosanct,” he said.
Similarly, Deji Ekemgba identified poor dispensation of justice in the country as a major cause of jailbreaks as the congestion at custodial centres is caused by so many awaiting trial inmates.
“Where there is a good dispensation of justice, suspects are tried on time and they know their fate, so the issue of waiting forever will not arise,” he said.
