Media Wire Express Correspondent
At least 118 inmates escaped from prison after heavy rains on Wednesday night damaged the facility in Suleja near the Nigerian capital, a prison service spokesperson said.
The prolonged rainfall damaged sections of the medium-security prison, including the perimeter wall and nearby structures, as stated by spokesperson Adamu Duza in a Thursday announcement.
Security agents were pursuing the escapees and had successfully reapprehended 10 of them with assistance from other security organizations.
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“We are in hot chase to recapture the rest,” Duza said.
He assured the public the authorities were on top of the situation.
“The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,” he said.
Duza did not provide specifics regarding the identities or group affiliations of the escaped prisoners. However, it has been noted that in the past, members of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgent group have been incarcerated at Suleja prison.
Prison escapes have emerged as a significant security issue in Nigeria, where issues like overcrowding, insufficient funding, and inadequate security measures have led to an environment conducive to breakouts.
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Numerous inmates have fled in recent times due to inadequate infrastructure and attacks by militants. An infamous incident includes a July 2022 assault by Islamic State militants on a high-security prison in the capital city of Abuja, resulting in the liberation of approximately 440 inmates.
“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,” Duza said.
He added that the service is making “frantic efforts” to modernize its prisons, including the construction of six 3,000-capacity facilities and the revamping of existing ones.
Prison breaks are not uncommon in Nigeria which has witnessed a series of jailbreaks in recent years.
In 2022, more than 300 inmates broke free after Boko Haram militants raided a prison in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. Authorities said at the time that some operatives of the jihadist group who had been held in the prison escaped during the raid.
A year earlier, over 200 prisoners fled a prison in the neighboring Kogi State after gunmen invaded the correctional facility, killing a policeman.
Five months before the invasion, more than 2000 inmates escaped during a similar attack by armed men at another prison in the southeastern Imo State. The gunmen used explosives to blast parts of the prison, authorities said.
