PUNCH
A warder attached to the Kirikiri Custodial Centre, Lagos State, Kayode Fatombi, has been arrested by the police for allegedly aiding the escape of some prison inmates.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that three men were arrested by the police for alleged robbery and kidnapping.
They were subsequently arraigned before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
A source said two of the inmates escaped after the warder led them out on the pretext of taking them somewhere.
After the police got information on the matter, they tracked the inmates and re-arrested them.
This was when they reportedly confessed to having paid the warder N500,000 each.
The source said, “The warder is now at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, and is expected to be charged on Monday.
“He was attached to the Kirikiri custodial prison as a warder, and he took the inmates facing trial at the High Court for kidnapping and armed robbery out of the prison and allowed them to escape. He claimed that they ran away while he was leading them out. During the investigation, it was gathered that he purposely allowed them to escape, so he was arrested and kept at the SCID, Yaba.
“The suspects were tracked and caught and they confessed that they gave him money to allow them to escape. The inmates confessed that they paid him N500,000 each.”
The source claimed that the officer had been dismissed and would be arraigned on Monday.
“He was led to the police office at the SCID on July 6 in handcuffs and leg chains,” he added.
A credible prison source said the incident happened a few months back, adding that the warder was taken into custody around mid-May 2023.
The source also said out of the three-man robbery gang, two escaped, adding that one was still in custody.
“What the warder told his bosses was that he was taking the inmates back to prison after their court sitting at Ikeja when he was waylaid by a gang that freed two of the suspects.
“The prison service arrested him for a disciplinary procedure. This was ongoing when the warder consulted with someone in the police force and engaged him to track the escapees. He provided the necessary information that led to their re-arrest.
