Giving further details on the attack yesterday, spokesman of the Service, Chief Superintendent Abubakar Umar, said suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari and other high-profile inmates were still in custody, contrary to reports that he escaped.
Umar said: “the attackers broke into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility respectively, killing a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, attached to the Custodial Centre and living three personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service seriously injured.
“A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. At the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large, four inmates died and 16 sustained various degrees of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are on-going to recapture all fleeing inmates.
“The Service will deploy its Corrections Information Management System, CIMS, in synergy with National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.
“This is also to confirm to the general public that DCP Abba Kyari and other VIPs held in the facility did not escape. They are currently in custody, hale and hearty.
“Recall that after the attack at the Medium Custodial Centre in Agbolongo, Oyo state, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, met with the heads of the security agencies under his supervision where the idea of Joint Security Taskforce, comprising the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was formed to forestall further breaches on custodial facilities.
“As at the time of the attack on the Kuje facility, we had 38 military personnel on ground, in addition to personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence, DSS and our Armed Squad.
This is the minister’s efforts to rejig the security architecture of our facilities.
“The public is also informed that some of the attackers were killed, while some escaped with gunshot wounds. We, therefore, appeal to hospitals and other medical institutions and practitioners to report anyone that comes to them for treatment for gunshot injuries to the nearest law enforcement agency.”