The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, has said none of the Boko Haram suspects detained at Kuje prison in Abuja was found after the attack on the facilities on Tuesday night.
SaharaReporters had reported that hundreds of inmates including high-profile Boko Haram suspects and bandits escaped during the invasion of the prison.
Addressing journalists after taking an assessment tour of the facility, the minister said, “The attack started around 10:30pm. They came in their numbers gained entrance into the prison and they released some of the inmates and which we are now following to see the kind of inmates that they have released.
“Very soon, we will give you the correct figure of the inmates that were taken. Aside that, we are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are returned back.
“The prison is accommodating about 994 inmates and over 600 escaped. Many people have been recaptured and brought back to the prison. Maybe by the close of the day, more will have been captured and returned.
“I think everything is under control. The people who came to do this activity, from the records, we believe they belong to a particular group. Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have sizeable number of Boko Haram suspects in detention, and presently we cannot locate any of them.
“I think they are about 64 in the prison and none of them now is available they have all escaped.”
SaharaReporters also learnt that other inmates had been removed from the facility including the suspended deputy commissioner of police, Abba Kyari, who was remanded at the prison by a Federal High Court.
Kyari is standing trial for allegedly dealing in cocaine alongside four members of his former police unit, the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Unit (IRT), and two other persons arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Enugu State, in January this year.
Gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Tuesday night attacked the prison facility in Nigeria’s capital city, and SaharaReporters learnt that the facility was ruined by the heavy firepower brought by the assailants.
Credit: SaharaReporters