Rain of freedom for inmates as storm destroys custodial centre in Niger

Rain of freedom for inmates as storm destroys custodial centre in Niger

An unspecified number of inmates have escaped from the old Suleja Correctional Centre in Suleja local government area of Niger State following a rainstorm that destroyed the facility on Wednesday night.

The storm, which was accompanied by heavy rain around 9pm destroyed parts of the building and exposed the inner fence of the facility that hitherto was protecting one of the cells where inmates were kept.

A resident of Suleja town, who confirmed the incident said: “The incident is true, we helped to arrest two of the inmates and handed them over to the prison authorities.”

It was learnt that a combined team of security agents have been sent to some strategic outlets and black spots of Suleja town to arrest the fleeing inmates.

It was further gathered that the security personnel were shooting sporadically to scare the fleeing inmates out of their hideouts.

Sources hinted that the inmates, who had overpowered the men guarding the facility, escaped towards different directions, making it difficult for the security men to trail them.

Meanwhile, it was observed that security has been beefed up along Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including Madalla axis to Abuja road.

Attempts to get the reaction of the State’s Comptroller of Prisons proved abortive at press time, but a senior officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), who preferred anonymity, confirmed the incident.