Gunmen Attack Okigwe Imo State Prison, Set Free Seven Inmates As Senator Escapes Abduction

Yet to be identified gunmen on Monday, February 12, 2024, stormed and violently attacked the Okigwe, Imo State Correctional Centre and set free seven inmates while they abducted staff of the Centre.

This was as Senator Patrick Ndubuee representing Imo North narrowly escaped abduction by gunmen at his residence within the Okigwe area, allegedly by the same hoodlums that attacked the Okigwe Correctional Centre.

However, his police orderly was not that lucky as he paid the supreme price in the hands of the gunmen.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Police command for Imo State, ASP Henry Okoye, said the attack took place at a farm settlement of the correctional facility in Umualomoke, a community in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state on Monday.

Okoye said the seven inmates were freed by the gunmen who carried out their violent act at the Correctional Centre in the early hours of Monday.

The police further said that apart from freeing the inmates, the attackers also killed a police inspector and abducted another police operative during the attack.

ASP Okoye said the attackers were suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.

The police spokesperson also said the gunmen equally attacked the residence of Senator Patrick Ndubeze located within the Okigwe area, adding that the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Danjuma Aboki has visited the scene of the incident.

In the words of Okoye; “CP Aboki has deployed the Police Special Tactical Squad in addition to the military and other security agencies and equipped them to track down the gunmen that carried out the attack.

Okoye said the Commissioner of Police also directed the security agencies to ensure that the abducted operative was rescued unhurt while the freed fleeing inmates were rearrested.

The spokesperson said the commissioner reaffirmed the commitment of the police in Imo State to ensure the safety of residents thus, appealed to residents of the state to support security agencies with “useful information” that would aid the arrest of the gunmen behind the attack.

It would be recalled that gunmen attacked the Owerri Correctional Centre on April 5, 2021, during which they freed over 1,840 prisoners.