The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau on Monday said 182 inmates out of the 210 that escaped from the Medium Security Prison in Minna, Niger state, after an armed attack are still at large. The Minister who undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the facility after the incident said most of the prisoners who had almost completed their jail terms returned to the prison willingly.
He further disclosed that two of the prisoners whose death warrants were to be signed by Governor Abubakar Bello were among those that escaped.
“Among the escapees were two condemned criminals whose death warrants were supposed to have been signed by the governor of Niger State today. That is probably part of the motivation for this prison break. However, the investigation will bring out most of these.”
“The visit revealed some security gaps which must be tackled to prevent reoccurrence.”
Meanwhile, the Comptroller General of Nigerian Prisons Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed, has debunked the rumour that the prison was attacked because it had Boko Haram inmates. He explained that at the time the incident occurred, no Boko Haram suspect was in detention.
“There is no Boko Haram suspect in the Minna prison facility. We do not know who attacked the prison yet but investigations will reveal it.”