Lagos — FEMALE medical workers at the kirikiri Prisons have withdrawn their services to inmates of the prisons following alleged threats by the inmates to sexually harass any female medical staff that enters their cells.

The withdrawal of services is currently causing the authorities of the prisons sleepless nights as they are not only worried about the development, but are also confused on how to deal with the worsening health situation in the prisons.

Vanguard investigations revealed that few of the female medical workers who are courageous enough to attend to the medical needs of the inmates are insisting that they can only attend to the inmates in the open, especially at the gate of the medium prisons in the presence of prisons warders.

Inmates attempted mass jail-break in 2003

According to investigations, the problems actually started immediately after the inmates riot and attempted mass jail-break in July 2003, which resulted in the burning down of the prisons clinic amongst other things that were destroyed by the rampaging inmates.

During the melee, the inmates had demanded that the authorities of the prisons bar certain prisons officers from entering their cells as one of the conditions for them to maintain peace in the prisons. The authorities were said to have acceded to that demand by posting out two senior prisons officers, but the inmates were said to have taken that privilege to determine who should enter their cells. This is what they have allegedly extended to the female medical staff.

One of the female medical staff told Vanguard on condition of anonymity that "the threat is real and nobody want to fall a victim. It is very sad and fearful. The inmates actually threatened to not only sexually harass any female medical staff that enters their cells, but also rape her. At first, we did not take it serious. But when the inmates started behaving in some ways suggesting that they meant their threats, we decided to avoid their cells. As you know, the clinic was burnt down during the last riot and attempted jail-break. One has to take pre-caution in this place.

You know the level of security in this place. If any one of us is attacked, before help can come, the worst would have happened. You know what that means. I am not ready to experience such an abomination and most of my colleagues feel the same way."

No longer safe to enter inmates cells

"we have told the authorities that we can no longer go to their cells to attend to them because it is not safe. Any of them that needs medical attention must be brought to the open, especially at the gate where there are security and every body will be seeing what is going on to avert any ugly incident".

According to her "this development has worsened the precarious health situation in the prisons.

Some of us that have the courage to even attend to them in the open are only fulfilling all righteousness as no proper medical attention can be done in an atmosphere of fear and distrust.

The authorities are actually confused and concerned about the implication this has on the poor situation in the prisons. So, at present, this is the situation. We are scared of them. Some of them, you know, are really hardened criminals. Even those that were not hardened before they came here have been hardened by the system".