Rainstorm paves way for escape of 119 inmates at correctional centre

A storm during a heavy rainfall which destroyed parts of the old Suleja custodial centre on Wednesday night has paved way for the escape 119 inmates of the facility located in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State

Penpushing reports that the rainstorm which started at about 9.00pm destroyed parts of the facility which include the prison building and exposed the inner fence protecting one of the cells where inmates were kept.

The incident was equally confirmed by a resident of Suleja town, adding that they(residents) helped in arresting two of the inmates and handed them over to the prison authorities, adding that the security agents have been deployed to blackspots in Suleja in search of the fleeing inmates.

Penpushing further reports that as at the time of filing this report it was noticed that security had been beefed up on the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including the Madalla axis of the Minna-Abuja Road.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the command Samson Duza, in a statement explained that the incident followed a rainstorm that destroyed the Suleja facility on Wednesday night, adding that the service had immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, in conjunction with sister security agencies.

Penpushing also reports that he said the downpour equally wreaked havoc on the surrounding buildings and part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, which gave way for the escape of some of the inmates

‘This gave way to the escape of a total of 119 inmates of the facility. But with the help of sister agencies, we have recaptured 10 of them and taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the others’, he stated

Penpushing reports that Duza added that the service was mindful that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and had become old and weak, pointing out that in view of this, the service was making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities gave way for modern ones.

‘This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six 3,000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria. This also includes the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones’, Duza said.

Penpushing further reports that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) spokesperson assured the public that the command was on top of the situation, and urged residents to go about their businesses without fear or hindrance, in same vein enjoined the public to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency

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