The tranquillity of the Mary Slessor City of Calabar, Cross River State capital, was on Monday, ruffled as seven criminals in the custody of the state’s Police Command, escaped the Command’s Headquarters on Diamond Hill, Calabar.
The escape of the criminal detainees, which was initially put at 17, but was confirmed to be seven by the Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abdulkadir Jimoh, created panic within the Calabar metropolis and its environs, as the escapes are known to be notorious elements within the security circle.
The Commissioner of Police, who confirmed the incident on Monday, insisted that the detainees who escaped were seven in number and not seventeen as claimed in some social media reports earlier in the day.
A statement endorsed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Irene Ugbo, DSP, explained that out of the escaped seven criminals, one had been rearrested; three were trailed and shot dead while trying to dive into the axis of the Calabar River by Jabs street in Calabar south and the remaining three still at large, but with the assurance that they were being trailed.
“The Commissioner of Police wishes to update the general public that on December 13, 2020, at about 5 am, seven detainees who were in the custody of one of the Command’s outfits for various offences escaped from the cell,” the statement read.
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It added that “however, three of them died in the process of escape, while one was rearrested. Meanwhile, effort is being intensified to apprehend other fleeing culprits.”
CP Jimoh also disclosed that besides the official inquiries into the incident, a number of Police officers who were suspected to have aided the escape of the detainees had been taken into custody for further investigations.
Most of the escapees were suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in police custody awaiting legal charges.
“Finally, the Command solicits genuine information from private individuals, corporate bodies and good-spirited citizens at all times, for enhanced performance and quality service delivery, please”, the statement pleaded.
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