Nigeria: Gunmen attacked prison with explosives, freed over 500 inmates

Gunmen free over 500 inmates by attacking a prison in southwest Nigeria. This was the third major attack that happened this year only, one of the prison servicers informed.

Abuja, Nigeria: Gunmen free over 500 inmates by attacking a prison in southwest Nigeria. This was the third major attack that happened this year only, one of the prison servicers informed.

Olanrewaju Anjorin, a spokesman of the Oyo correctional centre in Oyo state, told the sources on Saturday that the gunmen had attacked the facility late on Friday night.

The prison service further added that “While all the awaiting trial detainees were forced out of custody, the cells housing the convicts and the female inmates were not vandalised.”

Jailbreaks are becoming more common in Nigeria now. As per the reports, the police officials has only been able to capture a fraction of those who escaped.

Lagos-based online newspaper TheCable reported in July that, till this year, more than 4,307 inmates had escaped from prisons since the year 2017.

In this year alone, more than 2,000 inmates were freed in two earlier jailbreaks. On April 5, at least 1,800 were freed in the southeast Imo state when another facility was also blown up. While, on September 13, 240 inmates were freed after gunmen attacked a detention facility in the north-central Kogi state with explosives.

The authorities have stated that they have arrested many inmates who have fled and will positively capture the remaining ones.

According to government data, Nigerian prisons hold 70,000 inmates, but only about 20,000, or 27 per cent, have been convicted.

While the Human rights groups have noted that the prisons of Nigeria are often overcrowded, and the legal procedures are inefficient, which could be one reason for the jailbreaks.

Anjorin added to his statement, “I cannot ascertain the number of people that escaped or that were recaptured, but I am telling you that the security has been beefed up around the custodial centre and the town. The investigation has been started over the matter”.