Rights group seeks independent probe of prison killings

A human rights organisation, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up an independent investigation into the killing of inmates in Akwa Ibom State prison. Four inmates of the Nigerian Prisons, Ikot Ekpene  in Akwa Ibom State were on December 27, 2017 shot dead as officials […]

A human rights organisation, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up an independent investigation into the killing of inmates in Akwa Ibom State prison.

Four inmates of the Nigerian Prisons, Ikot Ekpene  in Akwa Ibom State were on December 27, 2017 shot dead as officials tried to prevent a jail break.

In a statement over the weekend, the executive director of CURE, Dr Sylvester Uhaa, condemned the fatal shooting, describing it as unjustifiable.

He said the incident is similar to the shooting in Abakaliki Prisons in Ebonyi State where six inmates were killed in August, 2016, explaining that the findings of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have not been made public.

“We reject the account of the Commissioner of Police, because his account portrays the inmates as violent, dangerous and belligerent, and portrays the staff of the facility as innocent victims who were attacked by violent people who wanted to maim and kill them,” he said.

He continued, “To this end, we call on President Buhari to direct the Minister of Interior to order an immediate and independent investigation into the incident with the view to establish the true picture of what happened, punish those found guilty of any violations and put in place  mechanisms to prevent future occurrence.”