How Boko Haram invade Kogi Prison, Free 143 Prisoners
Gunmen reportedly broke into Kogi prison and freed 143 prisoners after gaining
entrance into the prison by breaking some part of the walls before vandalizing
its record office. Sounds of gunshots were heard close to the prison which is
located at Koton Karfe, along Lokoja- Abuja Road.
Sources said, the gunmen operated unchallenged for hours before security
operatives arrived in the prison after they had left.
According to reliable source from the prison, twelve out of those freed
returned of their own volition but the Nigeria Prisons Service Public
Relations Officer, Ope Fatinikun, said they were captured.
Fatinikun added, ‘‘Unknown gunmen invaded Koton- Karfe prison between 9.30am
and 10pm and immediately it happened, the acting Comptroller-General of
Prisons, Aminu Suley, informed the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba,
and the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, and they ordered policemen and
soldiers to beef up security around the prison and to arrest the fleeing
inmates.”
The comptroller-General of the NPS told journalists when he visited the Prison
in company with
Governor Idris Wada on
Monday that the gunmen forcibly freed the inmates.
However, the police and the Army have launched a manhunt for inmates of the
Koton-Karfi Prison in Kogi State, who were set free by gunmen suspected to be
Boko Haram insurgents.
There were about 145 inmates in the 80-year-old prison as of 10pm on Sunday
when the gunmen gained entry into the prison by blowing up its iron bars with
an improvised explosive device.
A male prison officer and an inmate were injured while another inmate was
found dead after the attackers left.
Twelve of those who fled were said to have returned to the prison under
controversial circumstances.
The Comptroller General of the NPS, said that 26 of the inmates were convicts
while 119 were awaiting trial for different offences.
He lamented the congestion of the prison and pleaded with
Wada to prevail on the
judiciary to quicken the trial of those on awaiting list.
While responding,
Governor Idris Wada
said he would invoke his power of prerogative of mercy to set free some of the
inmates .
He said that he would also urge the chief judge of the state to free some of
the inmates.
The governor said security operatives were prompt in their response when they
were alerted, adding that it was regrettable that much damage had been done
before their arrival.
He also decried the deterioration of the prison, saying it was not good for
human habitation.
The governor promised to provide beddings for the inmates who had been forced
to live in sub-human conditions.
Wada urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the new Koto-karfi
prison. He added that when the prison was completed, the old building which
was established in 1934 would become a tourism centre.
The Koton-Karfe prison was attacked in February 2012 by Boko Haram members who
freed 119 inmates.
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