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| Nigerian Prisons Service signage in Badagry, Lagos State. Illustrative file photograph, 2016. Kaizenify / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. |
The Nigerian Correctional Service has ordered an investigation into the escape of two convicted inmates from its Medium Security Custodial Centre in Okene, Kogi State, as security agencies search for the men.
The inmates fled on Sunday, 8 November. In a statement issued on Tuesday, 10 November, the service’s spokesperson, Jane Osuji, said the Controller-General of Corrections had directed investigators to establish how the escape occurred.
The inquiry will examine possible operational lapses and determine what action may be necessary. Osuji said the service was awaiting a comprehensive incident report to establish the circumstances.
Kogi police spokesperson Saliu Afusat separately confirmed that the command had received a report from the correctional centre. She said officers were working with the NCoS and other security agencies to ensure the “prompt rearrest of the escapees.”
The command described efforts to locate and apprehend the inmates as ongoing, according to TheCable’s report of the police statement.
Neither agency named the inmates in its public statement or explained the route they took out of the facility.
However, Leadership reported, citing a police situation report, that the escapees were Samson David, convicted of theft, and Salvation Moro, convicted of armed robbery.
According to that account, the officer in charge of the custodial centre alerted the Okene Divisional Police Headquarters by telephone at about 10.30am on Sunday.
The report stated that the inmates escaped through the facility’s rear perimeter fence. It also said photographs of both men accompanied the communication to help security personnel identify them. Those details came from the reported police document rather than the agencies’ public announcements.
Afusat cautioned against circulating unverified accounts of the incident. She said her Tuesday statement was her only official communication on the matter and urged the public to disregard additional comments attributed to her unless the command confirmed them.
The Correctional Service said it had begun coordinated efforts to recapture the inmates and would release further information after verification.
“The Nigerian Correctional Service will provide further updates as soon as verified information becomes available,” its statement said.