“Dumsor” causing fear and panic in prisons

The current energy crisis in the country is causing fear and panic among Prison Officers in some parts of the country.

According to Prisons Officials, the ongoing crisis poses a danger to their security as hardened criminals could take advantage of the situation and harm them.

The officers use lanterns to go about their activities when there is no power, a situation which puts their lives in danger in the midst of dangerous criminals.

Speaking to Atinka FM, the Assistant Director of Prisons in Charge of the Koforidua Local Prisons, Samuel Cobbina Otabil, stated that, the prisons are no exception when it comes to the power crises facing the country in spite of the kind of people they have in their custody, and urged authorities to do something about the situation.

According to him, considering the kind of hardened criminals they have in their custody, it becomes very dangerous for them to operate in darkness, and that controlling them (prisoners) in such an environment is an uphill task.

“How do you feel in your own room when there is power cut, let alone prison yard where hardened criminals are kept,” he asked rhetorically.

He said they depend on the few lanterns provided by the Assemblyman of the area.

A member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior and MP for Sefwi Akontombrah, Herod Cobbinah expressed serious concerns about the situation and gave the assurance that the Committee will address the issue of power outages in the various prisons as early as possible.