There was pandemonium at the Medium Custodial Centre, Kaduna on Tuesday, as prisoners revolted over a rumoured case of Covid-19 in the centre.
Blueprint gathered that the inmates started an uprising in the Correctional Center, demanding to be released from the congested centre.
Unconfirmed report also has it that an awaiting trial inmate who was brought into the prison recently was infected with Covid-19 and had infected two other inmates, who were as at Tuesday showing symptoms of the virus.
It was however, gathered that personnel of the centre had a tough time quelling the uprising, including firing of shots to calm the fraying nerves of the inmates.
Reacting, the Controller of the Kaduna Command of the Correctional Centre, Sanusi Muazu Danmusa, said that there was no suspected case of Covid-19 in the centre.
When Blueprint visited the centre to confirm the rumoured outbreak of Covid-19 and the commotion in the Correctional Center, the Independence Way was blocked directly in front of the Centre, with barricades and vehicles of the State security outfit, Operation Yaki.
But the Controller who was at the Prison gate at the time of the visit said, “What happened in the Centre was a mere misunderstanding, which is normal.
“We only had a mere misunderstanding and we have resolved it. Our environment is now peaceful and calm.
“There is no suspected case of Covid-19 in Kaduna Correctional Center. Whoever is carrying such is carrying a mere rumour. To the best of my knowledge and as far as I know, there is no case of Covid-19 here.
“Nobody enters this place except you are a staff and even the staff, we wash and sanitize our hands before we enter and the people who work here do not go out until they close.” he said.
The Controller also said there was no casualty in the fracas that ensued, adding that one can understand that inmates who have been condemned to death for the past 15 years without being killed, inmates who have served 20 to 30 years, inmates who doesn’t know their fate, are bound to react.
“It is like the dumping ground of the society. Once people are rejected by the society, they are dumped here.”
