Kuje Prison Escapees: 33 Boko Haram Terrorists Wanted – FG
BY EDMOND ODOK – Still battling to douse negative public perception of internal complicity and security breach, the Federal Government has now formally declared as wanted 33 of the inmates who escaped from Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja during Tuesday night terrorist attack.
According to an official publication by the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), all the 33 inmates, now on the wanted list, are those with cases relating to terrorism and for being members of the deadly Boko Haram sect.
On Tuesday night, scores of terrorists had launched a daring attack on the prison facility, bombing their way in to free 879 inmates, among them were at least 64 with terror-related charges on their necks.
Among those declared wanted are Muhammad Sani Adamu, Muktar Umar, Nambil Zakari Gambo, AbdulKareem Musa, and Abdulsalami Adamu.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, had appealed for public calm, assuring that efforts were on to immediately re-arrest all the fleeing inmates.
He said security personnel were combing the whole area, up to a distance of 100 kilometres radius, in search of the escapees.
A statement by the Minister’s media aide, Sola Fasure, described the unfortunate incident as a new form of attack on the nation’s correctional facility for which the system was caught unprepared.
“Our system was primed to prevent and foil internal disturbance and riots, not external attacks/invasion since the facilities were usually built around police and military formations,” he said.
Insider sources hinted that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is currently coordinating the manhunt for the on-the-run hardened criminals.
