Following the recent heavy rainstorm that affected the fence of the Federal Security Medium Correctional Centre in Suleja, Niger State, the unfortunate incident resulted in the escape of over 118 inmates from the facility.
This statement was made by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over the weekend when he visited the facility for assessment.
During his visit, the Minister inspected some of the facilities that were affected by the heavy downpour, which led to the escape of a large number of inmates, most of whom were awaiting trial, along with a few convicted inmates in the Custodial Centre.
The purpose of the visit, according to the Minister, was to assess the extent of the damage caused by the rainstorm and to instruct the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (CGS), Jafaru Ahmed, to expedite the rebuilding of the fallen fence to accelerate the reconstruction process.
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The Commandant of the Niger State NSCDC, Commandant Joachim Okafor, has instructed the Divisional Officer of Suleja to immediately mobilize personnel under his command to support other security organizations at the Suleja Correctional Centre.
An aggressive manhunt has already been launched by combined teams of security agencies to recapture the escapees and return them to the facility. It has been reported that an undisclosed number of inmates have been recaptured by these combined teams deployed to surveil some highways.
Further checks revealed heavy security presence along the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna Highways as part of measures implemented to recapture the escaped inmates.
