NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > NIGERIA FREES DOZENS OF PRISONERS THROUGH LOOPHOLE IN CEILING

NIGERIA FREES DOZENS OF PRISONERS THROUGH LOOPHOLE IN CEILING

June 4 2009

Enugu, Nigeria –“It was only when I lay there on the rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not between states nor between social classes nor between political parties, but right through every human heart, through all
human hearts. And that is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me, bless you, prison, for having been a part of my life.”

When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote those words in his classic book ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ he illustrated both the horror and hope of prisoners. Regardless of language or culture, prisoners across the world have felt much the same pain. In Nigeria things are no different and it was with that hope that 150 prisoners walked away from imprisonment. The prisoners, free through a loophole in the ceiling of a cell, carried with them the hopes of thousands of others only to thrown back into their cells by officials determined to enforce their own sense of justice and show officials the need for better contractors.

“The prison system in Nigeria isn’t quite like that in the rest of the world. It is beset
by corruption and monetary issues that continue to compromise the justice system throughout the country. It only made sense that many took the opportunity that presented itself and become, at least for a short time, free men once again,” said Scrape TV Crime analyst Willard Weston. “Justice and imprisonment are a part of the social contract in which we all engage. In a truly free society there would be no prisons but there would also be no need for criminal prosecution. Nigeria has advanced in many ways in recent years, but unfortunately they have not yet been able to create an ideal society.”

It’s not clear how the hole in the cell was created. Some have pointed towards shoddy construction and inadequate supervision, but speculation is also high that the escape may have been an inside job.

“Prisoners are understandably upset having to live in those conditions. 24 hours a day in a cramped cell, weeks and months pass without any kind of charges, plus the fact that they are in prison so the motivation to escape is high. The cells aren’t particularly well built either so that could contribute to the ease of the escape, but there may be something deeper here, something only those in tune with Nigerian society can really understand,” continued Weston. “The obvious assumption is that these prisoners were deliberately freed in order to hunt them down again, thereby creating more work and money for law enforcement officials. That would be disingenuous though. Nigerian society is changing and their views on crime, criminality, and the nature of the self are changing along with it. It could very well be that this release was an expression of that changing cultural philosophy.”

Nigeria is widely considered an emerging economy and one of the more stable societies in sub-Saharan Africa. Art and philosophy have languished behind the growing economic viability and the overtaxed prison system was not generally seen as an impetus for redefining the society.

“It is entirely possible that somewhere in the Nigerian prison system there is a new Solzhenitsyn and that this release was an expression of that philosophy. We can’t rule out the possibility that the prison ceiling was made with watered down concrete and no rebar which allowed a bunch of desperate inmates an easy way out,” continued Weston. “That unto itself would call a lot of social questions to the forefront. Business ethics and workmanship are a part of an emerging society that speaks to the nature of the people and civilization itself. Prison and justice are of course important, but if the foundations are not sound then the walls and ceilings will collapse in on themselves.”

Reportedly prison officials have patched the ceiling of the prison though it’s unlikely that effort will cure Nigerian society of all its ills.  

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent

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