Kano State Government has announced plans to transform the 115-year-old Kurmawa Maximum Security Prison into a museum to preserve the state’s colonial and cultural heritage.
Gatekeepers News reports that the prison, built in 1910 by the British colonial government within the precincts of the Kano Emir’s Palace, has stood as a prominent symbol of colonial authority and correctional history in Northern Nigeria.
According to a statement by the governor’s Special Adviser on Information, Ibrahim Adam, the inmates currently held at the Kurmawa Correctional Centre will be relocated to a modern facility in Janguza, near the military barracks along the Kano-Gwarzo-Dayi Federal Highway.
“Kano State government under the leadership of Governor Abba K. Yusuf will transfer all inmates currently at the Kurmawa Correctional Centre to Janguza, while the Kurmawa Correctional Centre will be transformed into a museum dedicated to preserving historical artefacts and promoting the rich culture of the State,” Adam wrote in a Facebook post.
The new Janguza facility, constructed during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, can reportedly accommodate 3,000 inmates.
The Kurmawa prison, originally designed to house 690 inmates, has served as a significant part of Kano’s history for over a century.
