The Nigerian government said on Monday that its security forces are in pursuit of escaped prisoners and the gunmen who attacked a prison in the north-central region and freed inmates.
The yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked the Kabba Medium Security Custodial Centre, in Kabba, Kogi State, late Sunday and early Monday morning, according to reports.
“During the attack, security officers on duty which comprised of 15 Soldiers, 10 Police Officers, and 10 armed guards of the NCoS on duty fought gallantly to repel the attack. Regrettably, two officers of the Correctional Service are yet to be accounted for while one soldier and a policeman lost their lives during the attack,” the Minister of the Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said in a statement issued by Sola Fasure, his spokesman.
Fasure said the Custodial facility had 294 inmates as at the time of the attack, many of whom escaped after the gunmen used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence.
The statement said however that 28 inmates remained, while some of those escapees had also voluntarily returned to the facility.
“A Crisis Response Centre has been activated and a Special Taskforce
mobilized to recapture escaped inmates whilst an Inter-Agency Security Task Force is already on the trail of the gunmen who attacked the facility,” the statement explained.
Fasure quoted Aregbesola as assuring Nigerians that the security forces will find the attackers and bring them to justice. He had the same words for the escaped inmates.
“We shall leave no stone unturned to bring them back to custody. We are also putting INTERPOL on notice with their details, in case any of them attempts fleeing outside our shores,” he said.
Nigeria is currently facing rising insecurity on various fronts as gangs of bandits, Islamists carry vicious attacks on citizens, institutions and security personnel.