Prisons Service Loses Over Fifty Officials To Boko Haram, Says C-G

ORGANISED attacks on prison formations by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East part of the country have left no fewer than 50 officials of the Nigerian Prisons Service dead, while many more have been wounded.
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The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Mr Zakari Ibrahim, in Calabar, Cross River State in his keynote address at the annual workshop of the Prisons Welfare Insurance Scheme, said the organised attacks by the insurgents and hoodlums in a desperate bid to free themselves or their colleagues in custody “have left a number of our staff with severe injuries while some others have lost their lives in line of duty through these dastardly acts.”
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He said that the resilience and steadfastness of the insurance scheme has been tasked by the high number of claims, occasioned by the deaths and injuries, but the handlers of the scheme have always responded speedily to contributors through early settlements of claims in times of need.
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According to him, the scheme managers have not faltered in their obligation to the families of contributors, especially those who have fallen in the course of their duty.
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He said: “I acknowledge with great satisfaction the soothing relief the scheme has brought to bear in the lives of injured and deceased families through prompt payment of claims without the clumsy and cumbersome processes usually associated with insurance claims, these have helped to guarantee their immediate financial needs before other entitlements are paid.”
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He added that the staff welfare scheme had been expanded with over 700 prisons officials, ranging from the low level through the middle level to the top officials of the service benefiting from the vehicles given to them for personal use by the insurance scheme.
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He assured that the Nigerian Prison Service will continue to confront the challenges facing the country as gallant men and women in the service without compromising transparency and integrity.
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He said: “It must be noted that no society is immune to crisis. Therefore, Nigeria’s situation is not out of character, but the peculiarity of our situation requires that we deplore our professional training and orientation to surmount the challenges.”