Oyo jail attack: 446 inmates recaptured, says Fed Govt
By Joseph Ayinde
The Federal Government has said 446 out of 907 inmates who escaped from Abolongo Custodial Centre of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in Oyo town of Oyo State on Friday night, following an attack by some gunmen, have been recaptured.
Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, who announced this while inspecting the facility yesterday, said 69 others did not leave the facility.
He urged the residents not to harbour or aid the escapees.
The minister warned that doing such is against the law and would attract sanctions.
Aregbesola added: “As at the last count, 446 of the escapees have been recaptured, leaving 392 still at large. We want to assure Nigerians that the service has an updated database of the escapees with their biometrics.
“We are sharing the database with all security agencies in the country, including the Interpol, so that those who escape our recapture efforts can be nabbed.
“To those on the run, be assured you have nowhere to hide. You can run, but you can’t hide. We’ll fish you out. We are publishing details of those we escaped in the mass media so the public can assist in that effort.”
But it was learnt that some escapees returned to the facility out of their own volition while some others were captured and brought to the place at intervals.
This, our correspondent learnt last night, caused the constant changes in the number of the inmates who were on the run and those back in the facility, either by themselves or after they were captured.
Also, the Osun State Police Command has said it rearrested 13 of the escapee inmates in Ejigbo Local Government Area on Saturday night.
The command’s spokesman Yemisi Opalola, a Superintendent of Police (SP), confirmed the arrest to our correspondent
Also, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has ordered that Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras be installed in all the correctional facilities in the state.
Makinde gave the order yesterday when he visited Abolongo Correctional Centre in Oyo town.
The governor, who was accompanied by top government functionaries on the inspection, directed that the security cameras be linked with the state security situation room.
He said his administration would take immediate steps to protect the facility and directed that the main road to the place be immediately graded.
Makinde urged the general public, especially the residents, to be calm.
“This is shocking. Unfortunately, we lost a soldier and an Amotekun operative. Also, another person is on the danger list at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, as we speak.
“In the main, investigation is still ongoing and we cannot say precisely whether this is an isolated event or the beginning of a wider issue that we have to deal with.
“But whatever the case is, we have made an assessment and taken some immediate decisions. We have challenges around the country: banditry, insurgency and terrorism.
“We can only deal with those issues when we have the people in alignment with what the leadership is trying to do,” he said.
