Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has raised the alarm over the withdrawal of soldiers from the Nigeria Correctional Service centres across the state.
Akeredolu, in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that the men of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigeria Army, Akure, attached to the centres in the states had been withdrawn.
The statement was signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Richard Olatunde.
According to the statement, the governor received information on the development from the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyediran Oyeyemi, and expressed worries that the withdrawal of the soldiers could encourage jailbreaks.
The statement read in part, “Last night, Governor Akeredolu received reports from the Commissioner of Police in the state that soldiers attached to the correctional centres in the state had all been withdrawn.
“This development came as a surprise, considering the fact that both the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Correctional Service belong to the Federal Government.
“The governor was more bothered about the overflow effect of the soldiers’ withdrawal on the security situation in the state. More so that such action could easily encourage jailbreaks across the state.
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“It is, however, pertinent to alert members of the public and the Federal Government to this unwholesome situation. Findings into the remote cause of this action have only revealed that it was an ‘order from above’ without corresponding details.
“The situation notwithstanding, proactive efforts have been made to secure these centres so as not to allow premeditated jailbreaks as whoever gave the order to withdraw those soldiers was in the process of encouraging such.”
When contacted, the Publicly Relations Officer of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Captain Akin Omijokun, did not take his calls and a text message sent to his mobile telephone had not been replied as of the time of filing this story.
