- Safiu Kehinde
No fewer than 16 inmates have escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State, in the early hours of Tuesday.
The The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Abubakar Umar, made is known in a statement issued today in Abuja.
Umar said that some inmates breached the facility’s security, attacked personnel on duty and compromised the situation, enabling the escape.
He said that in the process of containing the incident, five personnel of the custodial centre sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The NCoS spokesperson added that two personnel were in serious condition and receiving urgent medical attention at a government health facility.
“Seven of the fleeing inmates have so far been recaptured and returned to custody,” he said.
Abubakar said that the Controller-General of Corrections, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, had visited the facility and ordered a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape.
He quoted Nwakuche as saying that no staff would be spared if found culpable and that an immediate search operation had been launched in collaboration with sister security agencies to recapture the remaining inmates.
The NCoS CG, according to Umar, urged members of the public to remain calm, vigilant and promptly report any suspicious movements or sightings of the fleeing inmates to the nearest security formation.
He added that preliminary investigations were ongoing and reassured the public of the service’s unwavering commitment to public safety and the security of all custodial facilities nationwide.