The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, yesterday, confirmed that 13 prisoners, comprising 10 pre-trial detainees and three convicts, escaped from Koton Karfe prison in Kogi State, last Saturday.
Six pre-trial detainees were, however, recaptured and returned to the prison. Others, including two robbery convicts are still on the run.
Ahmed spoke during an on-the-spot assessment of the prison.
Investigation showed the jailbreak was reportedly carried out by the inmates, who scaled the fence after breaking through the inner wall of the facility.
A statement by the NPS spokesman, Frances Enobore, said a three-man panel was raised to investigate the circumstances surrounding the break.
It said appropriate measures have been set up to address congestion, particularly among prisoners awaiting trial, in line with the Federal Government’s reform agenda.
The comptroller-general added that security would be tightened to forestall a recurrence.
A security source, who spoke in confidence, said: “It’s as if someone in the prisons did not do his/her job and prisoners took advantage of that to escape.
“The negligence may be ‘intentional’ and I hope the authorities will probe the break to forestall a recurrence. The remanding of some kidnap kingpins, paraded by the DSS, last week, may not be unconnected with the break.”
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