Correctional officers at Ibara Custodial Centre in Abeokuta say they caught the substance hidden in a bottled-water pack before it reached inmates.
A woman has been arrested in Ogun State for allegedly trying to take ethanol into a custodial centre disguised as drinking water. The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) identified her as Shobowale Balikis. Officers intercepted her at the Ibara Custodial Centre in Abeokuta at about 3:50 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, during routine screening.
What the service says
Olayinka Odukoya, Public Relations Officer of the NCoS Ogun State Command, said the woman was caught “disguising it as drinking water intended for an inmate.” Officers found the substance inside a pack of bottled water. He said it was detected before it reached the inmate population.
Abioye Kamoru Adesina, the Controller of Corrections for Ogun State, restated the command’s zero-tolerance policy on contraband. The command said it would keep tightening measures to stop prohibited items entering its facilities.
Second attempt in two months
The arrest follows another one at the same facility. On August 28, officers arrested Iyabo Sowunmi at about 1:33 p.m. at the main entrance. She allegedly tried to bring suspected illicit drugs to her son, who is on death row.
Both cases come after a Nigerian Tribune investigation, published with Premium Times, into security breaches at Ibara. It found that a death-row inmate had run TikTok live sessions from his cell and claimed that contraband, including phones and drugs, was reaching the facility. On August 6, the NCoS removed the officer in charge and two other principal officers.
Open questions
The NCoS has not named the bottled-water brand, the intended inmate or the source of the ethanol. Its statement gave no quantity recovered and no specific charges. The suspect has not been charged, and the police are expected to establish the circumstances.
The case adds to a run of alcohol-safety stories in Nigeria. Lagos police recently sealed a suspected fake alcohol factory in Badagry, and Canada has warned travellers over unregulated alcohol in the country.
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