Thursday, March 28, 2024

Aregbesola assures on getting escaped inmates back to prison

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has promised that all inmates who escaped custody through various prison breaks from some of the custodial centres in the country would eventually be arrested by the government.

The Minister made the promise while fielding questions at the flagship interview programme of the News Agency of Nigeria, “NAN Forum’’.

While giving the assurance on Sunday in Abuja, the Minister said the escaped inmates could only run, but could not hide, and asserted they were like trapped mice the government would get.

“They can only run, they cannot hide. They are like trapped mice, we will get them,’’ Aregbesola said.

Continuing, Aregbesola said “They will open bank accounts, they will have telephone numbers, they are just deceiving themselves, they will be caught.

“They are like trapped mice. Where is a trapped mouse going? If you release the rope used to trap the mouse, you are just entertaining yourself, later you’d retrieve the rope and bring the mouse home.

“They are trapped as far as I am concerned,’’ he added.

While explaining how their re-arrest would be effected, Aregbesola said that all inmates in custodial centres were registered in the government’s database or have their biometrics there.

While warning that the government was the most difficult institution to offend, the Minister, however, agreed that though the recapturing of the inmates was slow, it would eventually be accomplished, no matter how long it took.

Aregbesola also stressed that his ministry was working in tandem with other security agencies and ministries to ensure that the inmates at large were arrested.

“Government is not giving up; government is the most difficult institution to offend; it has long insatiable memories.

“I have read about criminals or suspects who ran away from justice forever or even died as fugitives, but ultimately found out when the DNA of their bones were assessed and analysed.

“Government is a patient institution. We have done what we should do. There is nobody today in our custodial facility without all the biometrics registered. None.

“All inmates, either as awaiting-trial persons or as convicts in our custodial facilities are registered in our database or have their biometrics in the database.

“To the extent that that is done, unless that person does not exist as a human being, it is a question of time before we get them; that is the assurance I want to give Nigerians,’’ he said.

“We need the cooperation of all the other agencies; the cooperation of other operators in the system to help us.

“We have circulated the biometrics of the fugitives to every relevant organisation that could help us use the data to apprehend them and we are not relenting.

“I am meeting with the Minister of Finance on some things to do with that because we need to work directly with that ministry and some of its agencies.

“I am also meeting with the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy since some of its agencies are well-positioned to accelerate the process of re-arrest.

“The truth is, having registered the biometrics of all inmates and the fugitives, the escapees can only run, they can never hide,’’ he noted.

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