Buhari Asked To Sack Aregbesoola, Magashi Over Repeated Jailbreaks

President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to sack the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, over the incessant attacks on prisons in the country.

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), stated this on Thursday in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko.

The group, who described the spate of jailbreaks in the country as alarming, also urged the President to sack the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, for perpetual incompetence.

Naija News reports that HURIWA was reacting to the invasion of the Kuje Medium Correctional Center in Abuja by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists on Tuesday night.

The terrorists with the aid of explosive devices gained entrance into the facility and released a total of 879 inmates including 65 Boko Haram members.

According to HURIWA, the minister has failed to address the incessant attacks on prisons in the country and take responsibility for his failure.

The group said the country has witnessed over 15 jailbreaks under Aregbesola while over 3,000 inmates have escaped from custody.

It advised Buhari to immediately set up a judicial panel of inquiry on prison attacks in the country and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

The statement reads in part, “The spate of jailbreaks under President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is alarming and condemnable. Even under then-President Goodluck Jonathan, who had no military experience or background, jailbreaks weren’t as rampant as what Nigerians see these days.

“The frequent and recurring jailbreaks show the inefficiency of all those President Buhari appointed into office and his unwillingness to sack them show also that the President tacitly want the situation to continue to fester.

“HURIWA demands the sacking of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; and his Defence counterpart, Bashir Magashi; for perpetual incompetence. We also call for a broad-based judicial panel of inquiry on prison breaks in Nigeria to be constituted.”