- 443 Escapees Recaptured, Says CG, Nigerian Correctional Service
THE Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, says 64 Boko Haram suspects escaped from the Kuje custodial after the attack on the facility Tuesday night.
Addressing newsmen after taking an assessment tour of the facility, the Minister said the attack started around 10:30pm with heavy gunfire and explosions.
He said they came in their numbers, gained entrance into the prison and released some of the inmates who are now at large adding that some had been recaptured.
“Very soon, we will give you the correct figure of the inmates that were taken, aside that, we are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are returned.
“The prison is accommodating about 994 inmates, over 600 escaped and many have been recaptured and brought back to the prison.
“Maybe by the close of the day, more will have been captured and returned.
“I think everything is under control and the people who came to do this activity, from the records, we believe they belong to a particular group.
“Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have a sizeable number of Boko Haram suspects in detention, and presently we cannot locate any of them.
“I think they are about 64 in the prison and none of them is available now, they have all escaped,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Comptroller General of Corrections, Alhaji Haliru Nababa, has said that about 443 inmates have been recaptured following the Kuje prison attack. Nababa disclosed this in a press statement Wednesday.
He noted that 443 escapees have been recaptured, bringing the total number of inmates in the facility to 551.
Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds.
Recall that in the wake of the attack on Abolongo Custodial Centre in Oyo State, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, met with the security Chiefs in the ministry to draw up a joint security framework for the protection of Custodial Centres against further breaches.
This is in addition to expanding the frontiers of collaboration to other agencies to fortify the facilities. Hence, at the time of the attack, personnel from the military, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service were on ground to support men of the Armed Squad unit of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
During the gun battle, a personnel of the NSCDC unfortunately lost his life and three (3) officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service also sustained bullet injuries. Four (4) inmates lost their lives while 16 others sustained various degree of injuries.
The Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, has ordered immediate deployment of the e-Corrections Information Management System (e-CIMS) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.
While appealing for prompt supply of credible information to re-arrest the fleeing inmates, the Comptroller General assures the public that the biometrics of all the inmates are intact and will be used to track them wherever they hide.
He expressed his appreciation to men of other security agencies for their support and gallantry even as he extends his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wishes the injured a quick recovery.
