Sun 24 October 2021:
More than 800 convicts fled after unidentified gunmen attacked a detention camp in southwest Nigeria’s Oyo state on Saturday, the country’s correctional service announced.
According to Olanrewaju Anjorin, spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Oyo state, 837 detainees awaiting trial escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abolongo on Friday night after gunmen attacked the facility.
“The invaders were said to have arrived the center heavily armed with sophisticated weapons and after a fierce encounter with officers on guard, gained entrance into the yard using dynamite to blast the wall,” said Anjorin.
He said the gunmen released the 837 detainees awaiting trial after entering the center, but the cells housing 64 convicts were not vandalized.
However, as of Saturday, 262 of the escapees have been apprehended, leaving 575 still on the loose, according to Anjorin.
He said a search and recapture operation has begun, and he requested residents to provide credible intelligence to assist security forces in locating the fugitives.
A number of gunman attacks have occurred in Nigeria in recent months, including attacks on security facilities such as police stations and detention centers.
In 2021 alone, more than 2,000 inmates were freed in two earlier jailbreaks: on September 13, when 240 inmates were freed after gunmen attacked a detention facility in north-central Kogi state with explosives; and on April 5, when at least 1,800 were freed in the southeast Imo state when another facility was also blown up.
In early April, a group of gunmen stormed the Imo state police headquarters and the state’s correctional facilities, freeing approximately 1,800 convicts.
FILE PHOTO
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