The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed that ten out of the 119 inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State, North Central Nigeria, have been recaptured.
News Central reported that the inmates escaped during a rainstorm that damaged parts of the facility’s structures on the night of Wednesday, April 24.
NCoS, together with other security agencies immediately launched efforts to apprehend the escaped inmates.
DSC A.S. Duza, the spokesperson for the NCoS Federal Capital Territory Command, issued a statement on Thursday morning, urging the public to remain calm as they work to address the situation.
“A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centres, Suleja, Niger state, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of one hundred and eighteen (119) inmates of the facility.
“The Service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the rest.
“The Service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and that they are old and weak.
“The Service is making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way for modern ones. This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six (6) number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.
“The Service wishes to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance. The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,” Duza said in the statement.
