KEY POINTS
- Due to floods in Borno, 281 inmates have escaped from Maiduguri Custodial Centre.
- Seven of them have ever since been rearrested while efforts to apprehend the rest are being implemented.
- Nigerian Correctional Service has reassured the public that anyone on the list of the missing inmates would be traced.
The NCoS has said that 281 inmates in the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Maiduguri Borno State are now at large having been threatened by floods in the area. The flood was compounded from the breakage of the Alau Dam following the rains and affected many facilities including custodial and staff houses.
NCoS spokesman Umar Abubakar, in a statement released on Sunday, said that seven of the escapees have been rearrested as efforts to apprehend the remaining 281 are being made.
The floods have displaced people in the correctional centre where walls of the building have been washed away, and this has contributed to the unfortunate escape of inmates when they were being evacuated, as said Abubakar.
According to The Punch, he also stated that the service possesses the details and biometrics of the missing inmates whereby the latter has been provided in the public domain. ”The service is working under cooperation with other security bodies to effectively facilitate the release of the inmates safely,” he said.
NCoS partners other agencies to regain escaped inmates
The flood in Maiduguri especially in Borno State which has displaced more than 23000 families is said be the worst to ever affect the town in the last 30 years, as witnessed by the United Nations Human Rights Refugee Council and other authorities of the country in question.
The flood occurred after spillover of the Alau Dam which is located 20km south of Maiduguri. Floods also affected the Maiduguri custodial centre by damaging most of the structures and thus moved all the inmates to a safer place.
Regarding the operation, Abubakar said and I quote “Yes the NCoS officers alongside the support of other security agencies moved swiftly to evacuate the inmates during the disaster that which is flood”.
Also, it is important to note that out of all the 281 prisoners that were supposed to be transferred, they disappeared. He stressed that undercover and open security forces have been deployed to search for the fugitives and take them back to prison.
Furthermore, Abubakar was quick to assure the public that the development is under observation and is harmless to the general public.
He noted that they are grateful to the Presidency and the recent visit made by the Vice President to familiarize with the situation and thanked NCoS for its continued effort in protecting the lives of inmates and members of the affected society.
