One of the inmates that escaped from the Nigerian Correctional Service centre, Plateau State.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – The Controller of Plateau State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Samuel Aguda has insinuated sabotage in the jail break which saw four inmates escape from the Jos Correctional Centre.
The escaped inmates were awaiting trial at the facility before they escaped from their cells in the early hours of Thursday.
It would be recalled that the same gang had escaped about a year ago when they were conveyed to a court at Barkin Ladi local government area of the State but were later apprehended by men of the Operation Safe Haven and taken back to custody.
Collage photo of two of the escaped inmates.
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Aguda who spoke with journalists in his office in Jos said the inmates escaped when the doors to their cells were left open and officers on duty were being questioned to explain what they know about the incident.
His words, “You are aware of the bad incident that happened in our major correctional facility here. The escape of four awaiting trial suspects who are facing trials at the various High Courts in the state.
“They were detained for kidnapping and robbery, the incident took place around 1a.m. on 8th July, 2021. Immediately I received the distress call, I rushed to the facility to confirm what really happened.
“When I got there, I inquired from those on duty to ascertain the level of culpability or negligence. I went to the cell where the inmates were locked. The cell was opened, not forcefully. It was assumed that either they duplicated the key and opened it or the cell was not locked by officers attached.
One of the four inmates that escaped from NCS centre in Plateau State.
“They scaled the fence and escaped, the armed guard at the sentry saw them and halted them but they fled before other armed guards would come and assist in capturing them.”
The Controller-General of the Correctional Service has ordered an investigation, some senior officers of the Service are in Jos, investigating the incident.
Aguda added, “We constituted a search party, our officers went to places that we suspected they would be hiding. We also checked the motor parks but up till now, we are still searching.
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“We have written a notice of escape and sent it to the Police so that joint efforts will be made to recapture them.
“We cannot rule out an attempt to tarnish my image, we have 340 staff working at the custodial centre, there may be a Judas among them, there was an inside collaboration, they will surely be fished out and punished.
“We did not arrest any of our personnel that were on duty but they are detained in the yard until further notice, they are giving answers to questions put across to them.”
