Kuje Prison Attack: Buhari visits damaged facility, says he’s disappointed with the intelligence system + Photos

*Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he is shocked by both the scale and audacity of Tuesday’s terror attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre at  Kuje, in Abuja, for which the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

President Muhammadu Buhari has inspected the level of damage at the correctional facility in Kuje, Abuja, FCT, which came under heavy terrorists’ attack Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

ConsumerConnect reports President Buhari, during the visit, said that he was disappointed with the intelligence system and utilisation at the Medium Security Custodial Centre at  Kuje.

Buhari expressed his disappointment Wednesday while speaking to reporters during his brief visit to the correctional facility, that was hit by the marauding terrorists Tuesday night.

Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President on Media and Publicity, in a statement noted the President said: “I am disappointed with the intelligence system.

“How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”

The Presidency also said soon after Buhari arrived at the facility, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, briefed about the attack.

Both officials showed President Buhari the bombed-out section and the records office of the facility, which was set on fire.

The invaders thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held, Dr. Belgore and Nabab were quoted to have told the President.

The duo further stated that at the end of the attack, none of the 63 terrorists were accounted for, but the records were not lost because they had been backed up.

Malam Shehu as well said President Buhari, like most Nigerians, was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack.

“How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack?” the President queried. “How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for?

“How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?”, Buhari asked.

ISWAP claims responsibility for attack on Kuje facility

In a related development, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre at Kuje, in Abuja.

This was disclosed Wednesday in a statement written in Arabic and shared via A’maq Agency, a news channel run by the Islamic State.

A translation of the statement reportedly read: “Islamic State fighters penetrated the prison of the Nigerian government yesterday (Tuesday), in Kuje city, on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, after demolishing its walls, and successfully liberated dozens of prisoners.”

Meanwhile, the President was also informed that the security forces had recaptured 350 of the escapees, while about 450 others were still unaccounted for, and that rapid work was underway to recapture them.

Accompanying the President to the Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja were Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); and Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Buhari’s Chief of Staff.

The President said he was expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident at the end of the visit, the statement added.