Gunmen attack Nigerian prison, kill two officials, free many inmates

The Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kabba town of Kogi State, North-central of Nigeria, was on Sunday night attacked by gunmen killing two officials and freeing many inmates, while no group has claimed to be responsible for the attack as at the time of filing the report.

Penpushing reports that as at the time of the attack the facility had 294 inmates, with many of them said to have escaped, and just about twenty-eight of them decided not to escape, as well as some voluntarily returned

The gunmen were reported to have used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence of the facility, while as at the time of this report two officers of the Correctional Service are yet to be accounted for while one soldier and a policeman lost their lives during the attack.

Penpushing further reports that, during the attack, security officers on duty which comprised of 15 Soldiers, 10 Police Officers and 10 armed guards of the facility on duty fought gallantly to repel the attack.

The Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, was reported to have embarked on tour of the facility and monitoring the situation as at the time of filing this report, with a call on public to stay calm

Penpushing also reports that, a Crisis Response Centre has been activated and a Special Taskforce mobilized to recapture escaped inmates whilst an Inter-Agency Security Task Force is already on the trail of the gunmen who attacked the facility.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in a statement said he had been briefed by the Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, on the unfortunate attack by yet to be identified gunmen.

Penpushing reports that, Aregbesola assured the citizenry that Nigeria’s security forces will find the attackers and bring them to justice, stressing that no stone will be left unturned, in the course of investigation

‘We shall leave no stone unturned to bring them back to custody. We are also putting INTERPOL on notice with their details, in case any of them attempts fleeing outside our shores.
We urge the people, especially the communities around the custodial facility, to be vigilant and report any strange and suspicious persons or activities to the nearest law enforcement agency’.

‘To the fleeing inmates, escaping from lawful custody is a serious criminal offence. Law enforcement agencies and citizens are lawfully empowered to use all necessary means to arrest and bring you to justice. You should therefore know what you are up against. You will however be eligible for mitigation if you wilfully surrender yourselves at the nearest law enforcement office’ Aregbesola told the fleeing inmates.

‘The Nigeria Correctional Service shall not be cowed by elements seeking to compromise the security of our nation; we shall deal with this situation with absolute resolve. Further updates will be provided after the end of the preliminary assessment’, he added.

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