Under the cover of heavy rainfall on Wednesday night, 118 prison inmates have escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State.
This was disclosed by the Nigeria Correctional Service in a statement issued on Thursday morning.
The statement issued by its spokesperson, Adamu Duza, on behalf of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, noted that the heavy rainfall had destroyed parts of the prison.
According to him, the command, in collaboration with other security agencies, have been able to apprehend 10 of the fleeing inmates.
But he expressed concerns over the prison walls that were getting weaker by the day as the facility was built during the colonial era.
The statement reads “A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the medium security custodial centre, Suleja, Niger state, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of 118 inmates of the facility,” the statement reads.
“The service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies, has so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while we are in hot pursuit to recapture the rest.
“The service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era and that they are old and weak.
“The service is making frantic efforts to ensure that all aging facilities give way to modern ones.”
Assuring of the service working round the clock to address the situation, he said the Controller of the FCT command, Francis John, has called on the public to freely carry on with their normal activities.