TheCable

The Niger state police command says it has taken measures to ensure the arrest of the 200 prisoners who escaped from Minna Medium Security Prison.

The inmates escaped after armed men invaded the prison on Sunday.

In an interview with NAN, Dibal Yakadi, commissioner of police in Niger, said only 19 out of the 219 prisoners who escaped were arrested.

“We are working in collaboration with other security agencies in Niger state to make sure that we re-arrest the runaway inmates,” he said.

“The police have embarked on stop and search for all vehicles and also engaged personnel on motor and foot patrol to ensure that we apprehend these inmates.”

Yakadi also said the command had deployed its personnel to motor parks across the state to track the escaped prisoners and appealed to the general public to assist security agencies in tracking and apprehending the escaped prisoners.

A prison official and a motorcyclist were killed during the attack.

Earlier, Rabiu Shuaibu, spokesman of the Nigeria Prison Service, said seven inmates had been rearrested.