VANGUARD
No fewer than 119 inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger state, have escaped, following hours of heavy downpour which destroyed parts of the facility on Wednesday night.
Spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service NCoS, Adamu Duza disclosed this in a statement on Thursday morning.
He said, “A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, 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 118 inmates of the facility”.
According to him, the Service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies has so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while still in a hot chase to recapture the rest.
Duza said 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, adding that the Service is making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way to modern ones.
