TheCable

All but one of the 145 inmates at the Koton-Karfi Prison in Kogi state have escaped, following a Sunday-night invasion by gunmen.

Ope Fatinikum, the public relations officer of the Nigerian Prisons Service who confirmed the story to TheCable, said five of the inmates were recaptured while three others voluntarily returned. One inmate died as well.

“The gunmen attacked the prison at about 9:30 – 10pm yesterday,” Fatinikun said.

“They were heavily armed and they engaged our men in a fierce gun fight during the duel, one inmate died.

“As of now, five inmates who escaped have been recaptured while three inmates have voluntarily returned.”

He added that immediately the jailbreak was brought to the attention of Aminu Philip, the acting controller of prisons, he informed the inspector-general police who instructed officers at the Kogi state police command to intervene.

“But before they came the unknown gunmen had already released the inmates,” he said.

“Out of 145 inmates at the prison, 144 escaped. During the duel, one inmate died. As of now, five inmates who escaped have been recaptured while three inmates have voluntarily returned.”

Fatinikun added that an operation to capture more inmates was ongoing.

Similarly, Adams Omale, the state controller of prison, confirmed the news, telling journalists that the prison came under attack of armed “external forces”.

He said that of the 145 inmates in the prison as at the time of attack, 119 were awaiting trial while 26 were convicts.

NAN quoted residents of the sleepy town, some 25-minute drive to Lokoja, the state capital, as claiming that the attackers were in control of the prison for more than two hours.

The 50-bed prison facility built in 1934 was similarly attacked in February 2012 by unknown gunmen, who freed 136 inmates, 27 of whom were re-arrested.

Among those freed from the prison on Sunday night were armed robbery and murder convicts.

The four cells in the prison had their iron bars removed while the record office was thoroughly ransacked. The ceiling of the building was shattered and the clinic turned upside down.

Idris Wada, governor of the state, later visited the prison in company of Mr Yomi Awoniyi, his deputy; and AMinu Suley, the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Prisons Service.