After the prison jailbreak, Nigerian Prisons Service, Akwa Ibom State Command is in a quandary in ascertaining the exact number of inmates who escaped from Ikot Ekpene Prison on Wednesday, StraightNews has discovered.
In a press release Wednesday, ASP Ogbajie J. Ogbajie, Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Prisons Service, Akwa Ibom State Command said 36 prisoners fled from the prison, but Alex Oditah, Akwa Ibom Controller of Nigeria Prisons Service, NPS, told News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday that 47 inmates escaped from the custody.
However, Mr. Oditah has announced that 14 of the fleeing prisoners have been re-arrested.
“We discovered that 47 inmates had escaped from the custody. Immediately, a search party swung into action and 14 were recaptured,” he said.
“Some inmates escaped from Ikot Ekpene Prison on December 27 at about 12.45 p.m. To ascertain the total number of those that escaped we have to do headcount.
The controller added that four of those who tried to escape died from bullet wounds when they tried to overpower prisons officers on duty.
He added that some of the prison’s officials, who sustained different degrees of injuries, were receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.
The controller explained that the escaped inmates seized utensils like knives, machetes and other dangerous materials to aid their escape.
“The capacity for Ikot Ekpene Prison is 400; but as of December 27, the prison has custodied 831 inmates. Most of the inmates are awaiting trials.
“The Prison facilities are over-stretched and requires urgent attention,” he said.
He assured that prison officials and other security agencies were working extra hard to recapture the remaining inmates.
Mr. Oditah appealed to members of the public to assist the authority with useful intelligence that would aid the arrest of the fleeing prisoners.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee had been inaugurated to ascertain the immediate and remote cause of the incident to forestall occurrence.
He noted that security had been tightened in and all prison formations in the State to forestall breach of security.
The controller appealed for logistics assistance from the Akwa Ibom State government to ease its operational duties.
Source: NAN
