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Scene
of the Koton-Karfe Prison break in Kogi State ... on Monday. Photo credits: Success Nwogu
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Media reports monitored by GRAPHITTI NEWS confirm the
police and the Army have launched a manhunt for inmates of the Koton-Karfe
Prison in Kogi State, who were set free by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram
insurgents.
The Punch reports there
were about 145 inmates in the 80-year-old prison as of 10pm on Sunday when the
gunmen gained entry into the prison by blowing up its iron bars with an
improvised explosive device.
A
male prison officer and an inmate were injured while another inmate was found
dead after the attackers left.
Twelve
of those who fled were said to have returned to the prison under controversial
circumstances.
A
prison source disclosed on Monday that the dozen or so returned
of their own volition but the Nigeria Prisons Service Public Relations Officer,
Ope Fatinikun, said they were captured.
Fatinikun
added, ‘‘Unknown gunmen invaded Koton-Karfe prison between 9.30am and 10pm and
immediately it happened, the acting Comptroller-General of Prisons, Aminu
Suley, informed the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and
the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, and they ordered policemen and soldiers
to beef up security around the prison and to arrest the fleeing inmates.”
The
gunmen were said to have also broken some of the prison’s walls
before vandalizing its record office.
The
source who pleaded anonymity said sounds of gunshots caused panic close to the
prison which is located on the Lokoja-Abuja Road.
According
to him, the gunmen operated unchallenged for hours before security
operatives arrived in the prison after they had left.
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Another scene of the Koton-Karfe Prison break in
Kogi State … on Monday
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The
comptroller-General of the NPS told journalists when he
visited the Prison in company with Governor Idris Wada
on Monday that the gunmen forcibly freed the inmates.
He
said that 26 of the inmates were convicts while 119
were awaiting trial for different offences.
He
lamented the congestion of the prison and pleaded with Wada to prevail on the
judiciary to quicken the trial of those on Awaiting Trial List.
Wada
said he would invoke his power of prerogative of mercy to set free some of the
inmates .
He
said that he would also urge the chief judge of the state to free
some of the inmates.
The
governor said security operatives were prompt in their response when they were
alerted, adding that it was regrettable that much damage had been done before
their arrival.
He
also decried the deterioration of the prison, saying it was not good for human
habitation.
The
governor promised to provide beddings for the inmates who had been forced to
live in sub-human conditions.
Wada
urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the new Koto-Karfe prison.
He added that when the prison was completed, the old building which
was established in 1934 would become a tourism centre.
The Koton-Karfe prison was
attacked in February 2012 by Boko Haram members who freed 119 inmates.
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