*Faults failure of intelligence during attack
* Wonders how terrorists organise, have weapons, attack facility, escape
* Demands comprehensive report of what transpired during the attack
Apparently showing anger during his visit to Kuje Prison in Abuja after the terrorists attack on the correctional centre, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the terrorists during and after the attack on the facility.
The President, who stated this during his visit to Kuje Prison on Wednesday, expressed disappointment with the failure of the intelligence system to detect the security breach during the attack.
In what can be regarded as a signal for removal of certain government officials for negligence and incompetence over the national embarrassment, Buhari wondered how the terrorists could organise themselves with weapons, attacked the facility and escaped without detection by security operatives.
After inspecting some of the points impacted by the attack, Buhari spoke to journalists and expressed disappointment with the failure of the intelligence system (and utilization).
The President, who spent 30 minutes assessing the extent of the damage, said, “I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organize, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
“How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? 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?”
But the President was also informed that the security forces have recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others are still unaccounted for, and that rapid work is under way to recapture the rest.
Soon after he arrived, Buhari was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, showing him the bombed-out section used to access first, and the records office which was set on fire.
The duo added that the terrorists thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.
The President was apprised that, at the end of it, none of the 63 terrorists are accounted for, but it was emphasized that records are not lost because they have been backed up.
Buhari, accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, the Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.
Speaking on Buhari’s visit to Senegal, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, faulted the criticism of Buhari’s trip to Dakar, Senegal.
He said,” Governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats. To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow”.
