Aregbesola dismisses calls for his resignation over jailbreaks

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday, shrugged off the calls for his resignation over the recent jailbreaks in the country.

Aregbesola, who addressed State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, said the demands for his resignation in some quarters were “unnecessary.”

Nigeria has recorded a few jailbreaks at different correctional centres across the country recently.

The latest was the last month’s attack on the Jos Correctional Centre in Plateau State by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

At least 10 people were killed while over 200 inmates escaped from the facility.

The minister said: “Morally, the state owes itself the responsibility of safe custody that must not be violated. So, on that account alone, we must appreciate the enormity of any successful attack on our custodial facility and I so do. But I want us to put these things in the context of our security situation.

“In Jos, our men died, meaning that the best we could put there was there and when your best could not suffice, it means that it is no longer a question of inability to make preparation or failure for preparedness, it is just that at that instance, we could not just hold the defence as expected.

“As to whether it calls for my resignation, I still don’t see any need for that because it’s not for lack of preparedness that the attacks were successful. No.

“What I can assure Nigerians is this: Yes, as contextual as these attacks and the successes such criminals are having, we are upping our game and we will not allow it. We will prevent any such opportunistic attack and even make it impossible. And that is what the state must do.

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“We are working with all arms of government, particularly the security, to make our custodial facilities impregnable. We will not rest until that is achieved. That’s the assurance I want to give Nigerians.

“The Nigerian Correctional Service, through the ministry of interior, presented a memo to council and obtained approval to spend the sum of N965,902,524.58 to procure 49 operational and Green Maria vehicles.

“These 49 vehicles will complement the 513 operational and Green Maria vehicles already purchased between 2016 and 2020.”

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