Kuje Prison Invasion : 879 inmates escaped – NCoS

 

• Buhari expresses disappointment with intelligence system
• Presidency defends his travelling to Senegal

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), on Wednesday, disclosed that a total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack.

In a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the NCoS, Umar Abubakar, gave a breakdown of the number of inmates who escaped, saying that 443 inmates have been recaptured, while 551 inmates are currently in custody.

He also said that 443 inmates are still at large, 4 inmates were killed during the attack while 16 inmates sustained various degrees of injuries and are being treated at the moment.

One personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), attached to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje was also killed in the attack, the NCoS said.

He said the attackers, who used explosive devices and came through the main entrance of the facility respectively, also left three personnel of the Service seriously injured.

He said at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, 38 military personnel were on the ground in addition to the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and NCoS’ Armed Squad.

The NCoS spokesman said the Service would deploy its Corrections Information Management System (CIMS) in synergy with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.

He also confirmed that DCP Abba Kyari and other VIPs held in the facility did not escape, saying “they are presently in custody, hale and hearty”.

While disclosing that some of the attackers were killed while some escaped with gunshot wounds, Abubakar appealed to “hospitals and other medical institutions and practitioners to report anyone that comes to them for treatment for gunshot injuries to the nearest law enforcement agency.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed disappointment with the intelligence system at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, Abuja.

The President who spent about 30 minutes when he visited the facility attacked by terrorists on Tuesday night, said: “I am disappointed with the intelligence system.

“How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”

Soon after he arrived, he was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore.

The Controller-General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, showed him the bombed-out section used to access premises and the records office, which was set on fire.

They told the President that the invaders, thereafter, launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.

The President was told that at the end of the raid, none of the 63 terrorists could be accounted for.

However, he was told, records are not lost because they have been backed up.

President Buhari, who, like most Nigerians, was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack queried: “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack?

“How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed?

“Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” .The President kept asking questions in bewilderment.

The President was also informed that the security forces have recaptured 350 of the escapees, while about 450 others are still unaccounted for, and that rapid work was under way to recapture the rest.

The President, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.

Meanwhile, the Presidency has reacted to mounting criticism of the trip to Dakar, Senegal by the President.

They stressed that governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity stated, “To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow.”