Enugu Plans Prison Relocation

The Enugu Prison is to be relocated to a safer place so as to avoid future occurrence of  last Thursday’s  early morning fire disaster which claimed the lives of more than three persons, while houses and other properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.

The Enugu state governor, Barrister Sullivan Chime, made this known Friday while receiving the Minister of  Interior Affairs, Comrade Patrick Moro, who was in Enugu to inspect the damage caused by fire that destroyed more than 15 houses at the prisons and Police  quarters in the Enugu Capital city.

Government, he said,  would provide land and other logistics to make the relocation exercise faster so as to enable the Prisons staff continue to render their services to the state and the country in general.

The Governor who was represented by his Deputy Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, said that the relocation of the prison was very necessary since the compound which used to be at the outskirts of the town had been  overtaken by urbanization.

Earlier in his speech, the Minister, Comrade Moro, told the governor that he was in the state to inspect, assess the extent of damage caused by the fire and also to sympathize with the victims and condole with the families of those who lost their dear ones.

He noted that due to the present situation of things at the prison, its relocation of the prisons to a better and safer environment has become very necessary.

The minister, therefore, appealed to the state government to assist the federal government to make the relocation exercise possible and faster since the issue of security of life and property is the concern of all the levels of government.

Comrade Moro described the fire incident as very sad and said that the visit would enable him find the immediate and long term solution to avoid future occurrence of such ugly disaster.

Meanwhile, the  State Governor, Barrister Sullivan Chime,  has expressed shock at the magnitude of damage caused by last Thursday’s fire incident in Enugu which claimed the lives four persons, while houses and other properties worth millions of naira were destroyed,  saying that he was thankful to God that more lives were not lost in the inferno caused by the driver that lost control of tanker fully loaded with petrol.

He said he was outside the state when the incident occurred and had to rely on newspaper reports to get an idea what happened,  adding that the picture he had in his mind was “a child’s play” compared to what he saw on the ground.

The chief security officer of the state  said that it had been confirmed that four people died in the incident but promised that his government would take immediate steps to resettle and compensate all those affected by the early morning fire.