Two months after the damage to the correctional facility in Borno State due to the September 10 flooding, 278 escapees remain missing.
It was earlier reported that Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, experienced severe flooding in September, which caused widespread damage to critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, hospitals, and the medium security custodial centre, where a total of 281 prisoners fled to safety.
The Spokesperson of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Abubakar Umar, who confirmed the missing escapees, stated: “The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre, Maiduguri, as well as the staff quarters in the city.”
He further added, “Upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the service, with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, 281 inmates were observed to be missing.”
Following the jailbreak, the state police command confirmed the arrest of three escapees.
In separate statements, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Daso, disclosed the identities of the three re-arrested escapees: Auwalu Aminu, Abubakar Mohammed, and Kyari Kur.
One of the statements read: “Kur was apprehended on October 10 after police at Gubio Divisional Headquarters received credible intelligence about his whereabouts. Daso said that the police acted swiftly and arrested him in Gubio town.”
Another statement said, “The rearrest of Muhammed was facilitated when on September 15, 2024, at about 1500HRS, a resident of Bulakara Ward, Gubio LGA, alerted the police after sighting Abubakar in Gubio town, following his escape from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Maiduguri. Following a swift response by a police patrol team, the escaped convict was apprehended.”
In a separate statement, the police mentioned, “Auwalu was apprehended on October 16, 2024, by police officers from Bama Area Command/Banki Divisional Headquarters, following a tip-off that Aminu was spotted in Banki town.”
In an interview (with The PUNCH) in Maiduguri on Monday, Daso stated that the police were still conducting intensive search operations to apprehend the remaining escapees.
“Efforts are still ongoing to arrest the other fleeing suspects, and we will ensure that we continue to update the public on our progress and achievements,” he said.
According to him, the re-arrested convicts have been handed over to the correctional service in the state.
“Not less than four suspects have been re-arrested so far and handed over to the correctional service,” he confirmed.
