The Role of the Concerned Authorities in the Incessant Jail breaks in Nigeria: A Critique

Abstract

Jail break is an act where a prisoner escapes from prison custody, often with the aid of terrorists or armed
robbers, resulting in many prisoners being illegally freed and mix with the larger society. It is no longer
news that under the Nigerian legal system, prison break has been criminalised and considered unlawful
with sanctions. This phenomenon of jailbreaks has in one way or the other impacted negatively on the
society and posed dangerous threats to national peace and security. Using doctrinal research methodology,
this paper addressed the role of concerned authorities in the incessant jailbreaks in Nigeria. The paper
examined the incessant prison breaks in Nigeria from a theoretical perspective and suggested ways to
prevent future occurrences in Nigeria. The paper revealed that delay in justice delivery, corruption,
ineffective Correctional Service Arms Squad and Intelligence Unit, lack of prison intelligence and dynamic
security, among others have weakened the Nigerian Correctional facilities’ security and led to incessant
jailbreaks in Nigeria.