Prison/ Jailbreak in Nigeria and Its Implications on National Security

Security issues continue to dominate Nigerian political space and academic discourse. In recent years, the increase in jail breaks has been alarming. To say that the custodial centers of the Nigerian Correctional Service are under siege is not an overstatement. This fact has been corroborated by ubiquitous cases of jailbreaks/prison breaks witnessed over the years. Jailbreak is a threat to national security because it reinforces criminality in the society. Therefore, this calls for quick policy drive to stem the tide with utmost alacrity. The change in the name from Nigerian Prisons Service, to Nigerian Correctional Service, appears to have done nothing to change the narrative of persistent attacks resulting in jailbreaks. This work situates that prevention of jailbreak is another method of counter terrorism/insurgency; therefore, some immediate actions such as interventions to change the conditions of infrastructure, training, and welfare packages need urgent attention. The work observes that there cannot be effective measures to counter insecurity if those in custodial centers/prisons are not reformed, and lack safe custody through constant security breaches, among others. Findings reveal that while insecurity is recipe for attacks on the custodial centers of the Nigerian Correctional Service, the aftermath of such incidents further compound the condition of insecurity in the society. All security agencies operate in the spirit of division of labor, therefore, whatever bad news that affects one agency has negative effects on all others. That is why there is a need for all agencies to be given equal attention, in order to effectively contain insecurity once and for all. Data are elicited though primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are core documents available within the domain of the Nigerian Correctional Service, and included policy documents, and government publications. Their selection was based on relevance, authenticity, official nature, and direct connection to national security. Secondary sources used are published and unpublished materials. They include books, journal articles, theses and dissertations, newspapers, scholarly materials from the internet related to prison, terrorism, criminality and national security. These materials were sourced from online academic databases, credible media platform, among others. All data spawned have also been subjected to critical examination and assessment for the purpose of objectivity.