A quick intervention by men of Operation Yaki, a Kaduna state government security outfit, at the weekend saved what could have been a major jail break in Kaduna . The crisis was a protest against what the inmates described as inhuman treatment arising from the dilapidated nature of the prison and its congestion.

Residents of Kaduna state who have been sleeping with one eyes closed since the outbreak of Jos religious crisis woke up Friday morning to find the popular Independence Way where the prison is located being barricaded by stern -looking security operatives made up of army, air force and the police.

Following this development, fear gripped Kaduna metropolis as the people particularly motorists who first noticed the unexpected development started running in reverse directions with the notion that the Jos inferno had spilled over to Kaduna.

It took the intervention of the government officials to douse tension when they quickly explained the situation and told the panicky people that the state government was  not only in control but always at alert and assured that there was no need to entertain any fear.

It was gathered that the inmates were protesting the congestion in the prison which was built during the colonial administration with a capacity of 900 inmates but now housing about 3000 of them.

The prison which according to sources is the only one of its kind in the northern Nigeria that has a gallows where condemned prisoners are kept, has amenities that are outdated.

The protesting  inmates are complaining that accommodation that is meant for 5 is now serving 20 inmates. Worried by adverse effects of the congestion as it affects their lives, they want the prison reform to take into consideration the needs to carry out expansion in the prison with a view to giving  them breathing space.

``The prison was built during colonial era. Its amenities are all outdated. Accommodation meant for 5 people is now for 20 inmates. We are over crowded. Let the prison reform take our health into consideration. We are human beings but what they are doing to us is inhuman. We should not be treated in the way we are being treated'' a source relayed the ill feelings of the prisoners.

The crisis which started in the early hours of Friday morning left officials of the prisons who were on morning duty locked out for several hours as they could not find their way into the premises for fear of the irate prisoners jumping out.

The cheerful news however was that though they was rioting inside the premises the protesting  prisoners  including those awaiting trials, condemned robbers among others serving different jail terms did not unleash their terror on the prison staff who were on night duty even as they could not go out. Their effort to break jail was aborted by the prompt response of operation yaki to the distress call as they quickly cordoned off the area with telling effects on traffic flow for hours.