No fewer than 1.2 million Nigerians are struggling for 6,500 Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) jobs as the recruitment portal closes today, LEADERSHIP Sunday can report.

The federal government had said that the ongoing recruitment into the Prisons Service was aimed at addressing manpower shortage in the service. It was gathered that the service, as at present, can accommodate 6,500 applicants based on the approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Our correspondent however learnt that as at 9:30am yesterday, over 1.2 million Nigerians had applied for the advertised jobs. A top source in the service, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday on condition of anonymity, stated that the application process had been smooth and transparent, adding that the service was committed to making the recruitment a huge success.

He said, “NPS had at 9.30am on Saturday, June 9 received over 1.2 million applications from applicants who are seeking employment into the recently advertised 6,500 vacancies into the service.

“You will recall that in response to our request to close the gap of immense manpower shortage, especially as it concerns effective manning of our facilities, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the recruitment of 6,500 personnel to reinforce the Nigeria Prisons for better productivity,” the government official said.

According to him, the leadership of the Prisons Service and the Civil Defence, Prisons, Immigration and Fire Board (CDPIFB), chaired by the minister of interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), would continue to make the process of the recruitment transparent. He assured the applicants of fairness and equal opportunity “since the service is only interested in recruiting the best brains in the society.”

He added that the Controller General, Ja’afaru Ahmed, was excited by the huge interest shown by Nigerians in joining the service. Meanwhile, the prisons boss has promised to ensure accountability in the conduct of Prisons officers, stating that it would stop impunity in the service. Ahmed cautioned prisons staff to re-assess their attitude to duty and to treat inmates in a more humane manner, even as he assured that the gap of manpower would be addressed in the ongoing recruitment into the service.

He stated this at the weekend during an emergency meeting with top officers of the service, following the recent security breach in Minna prison. Ahmed explained that the report of investigations into the attack on the prison was being awaited. It would be recalled that after what analyst described as a long break from incessant jailbreaks in the country, unknown gunmen again stormed Minna facility last Sunday, overpowered the personnel and released 210 inmates.

The gunmen also shot and killed a prison officer that was resuming duty and the motorcyclist that conveyed him. Ahmed stated that a committee set up to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident would soon turn in its findings.

LEADERSHIP Sunday authoritatively gathered that recent jailbreaks in the country are partly caused by shortage of manpower in the NPS. Since Ahmed’s resumption of office, the nation has witnessed several attacks on both maximum and medium prisons facilities. The first occurred at the Kuje Medium Prison on the 24th of June, 2016, just five weeks after he took over as the Controller-General during which two high profile inmates, Solomon Amodu and Maxwell Ajukwu (both standing trial for culpable homicide), escaped from custody.

Again, on 30th July, 2016, 13 inmates escaped also escaped from Koton Karfe Minimum Prison in Kogi State. The prison break did not follow the usual method of outsiders bombing their way to release inmates, but was reportedly carried out by the inmates who made their escape around 7:15 am by scaling the prison’s fence. On the 8th of August, 2016, there was another jailbreak in Nsukka, Enugu State where 15 inmates, comprising 10 pre-trial detainees and three convicts, allegedly escaped, again without any external help. Barely ten days after, there was an attempted jailbreak, this time, in Ebonyi State.

The Abakaliki Prison, built by the British Colonial government to accommodate 300 inmates. reportedly houses no fewer than 1000 inmates. LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that as part of stringent measures to curtail incessant jailbreaks in the country, 23 Prisons officers were dismissed, while another 11 got suspended for the first three jailbreaks.

Similarly, the Controller-General also approved the dismissal of seven junior officers from Kuje Medium security prison and 10 other junior workers serving in Koton Karfe prison implicated in the saga The officer in charge of Nsukka Prison, DCP Okonkwo Lawrence, and 10 others were also suspended over the incidence. (Leadership)

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