Report: FG’s refusal to swap arrested insurgents with Kaduna-train captives reason for Kuje attack

The Kuje correctional facility was attacked reportedly because the federal government refused to swap imprisoned insurgents with kidnapped Kaduna-train passengers.

Gunmen had attacked the Kuje prison facility in the federal capital territory (FCT) with explosives on Tuesday night, with over 500 inmates said to be at large.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The insurgents had reportedly said they were behind the attack on a Kaduna-bound train in March which resulted in the abduction of several passengers.

According to Daily Trust, sources said the insurgents attacked the facility to free their members who were held in prison because the government was not responsive to their demand.

“They discovered that their demands would not be met and therefore, they set out for full scale war,” Daily Trust quoted a source as saying.

The newspaper quoted another source as saying intelligence reports were provided to the police days before the attack, but the warning was ignored.

“Sadly, there are moles everywhere and therefore, even though the security operatives were alerted, the terrorists had their way,” the source was quoted as saying.

“And that is why they perpetrated the nefarious act with precision. Some of them distracted attention of the security operatives by detonating many explosives outside the facility after destroying the main entrance, which gave a different group task with the responsibility of bringing out their members unfettered access.

“Those that gained access went straight to the cells where the Boko Haram members were incarcerated and set them free. There was no serious resistance.

“Those freed would definitely unsettle Nigeria’s security architecture; they would disrupt peace unless something is done. And as you can see, the VIP section was not compromised because those incarcerated there were not their targets.”

The newspaper added that two police officers have been arrested for allegedly compromising security.

“Two of the terrorists that escaped called a police investigation officer (IPO) in one of our stations and spoke to him in a compromising manner. They are now being investigated to know their level of complicity,” a source reportedly said.