The Federal Government has disclosed that 25 fleeing inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Koton Karfe, Kogi State, have been recaptured with the security agencies on the trail of the 97 escapees still at large.
Public Relations Officer of Nigerian Correctional Service, Mr Francis Enobore, confirmed the development on Tuesday in Abuja.
He clarified that only 122 of 227 inmates centre escaped on Monday following flooding disaster that collapsed the wall of the facility.
He added that 105 inmates stayed back and have been evacuated alongside those that were recaptured.
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He said: “As a result of the heavy down pour and flooding of Koton Karfe and its environs the inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Koton Karfe including those so far recaptured have been successfully evacuated to safer locations and no life was lost in the incident.”
Enobore in a statement made available to newsmen said the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed gave the evacuation order when he visited the centre for on the spot assessment.
He said: “A torrential downpour on Monday 28th October 2019 caused a surging flood that overran the centre at about 0200hrs pulling down a section of the perimeter fence.
“The inmates’ cells and offices were also submerged forcing some of the inmates to break out of custody for safety.
“At the time of the incident, the facility had a total of 227 inmates. While 122 used the opportunity to escape, 105 of them stayed back. However, 25 of the escapees have been recaptured leaving 97 still at large,” he stated.
The NCS spokesperson noted that the efforts of government and good people of Kogi State including officers and men of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the local vigilante in the community in assisting personnel of the Correctional Service to carry out search and rescue operation were highly appreciated.
“While assuring the safety of inmates in other facilities in the State and indeed other parts of the country, the Controller-General wishes to appeals to members of the public to provide useful intelligence that will facilitate swift recapture of the fleeing inmates,” he said.
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