Kuje Prison Break: 421 evading prisoners apprehended, 454 still at large

 According to the House of Representatives Committee on Correctional Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service has recovered 421 convicts who escaped from its facility in Kuje, Abuja, while 454 other detainees are still at large.  This comes right after the committee claimed to have called the Kuje Custodial Center attack's latest perpetrators, Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola and NCoS Comptroller-General Haliru Nababa, to testify before it. The Nigerian Army Platoon Commander who was on duty the night of the incident was also invited by the committee.

Edwin Anayo, the chairman of the committee on Correctional Service, revealed this during a Thursday monitoring visit to the facility during which the lawmakers saw 115 detainees. He pointed out that "if you reduce it, it will give you roughly 879 that escaped that night."

On Tuesday july 5 of last week, after militants of the Islamic for West Africa Province attacked the facility, the inmates—among them 69 suspected members of Boko Haram—had managed to escape from Kuje Medium Custodial Centre. Anayo bemoaned the recent attacks on 12 additional Custodial Centers across the nation. He added it is concerning that recent armed jailbreaks have resulted in the release of prisoners. He declared, "We are calling the Chief Governmental Officer and the minister in charge of this agency to the National Assembly to explain to the entire world and Nigerians what is happening. We do not feel at ease with the recent jailbreak incidents. There have been ten to twelve assaults on detention facilities. Nigerians aren't at ease. Because of this occurrence, no one can now move about freely in Abuja. In order to address problems, we need to communicate and understand them.

"It's important for us to understand your problems and how to solve them. The committee is curious as to what took place and how the security authorities reacted. On that day, we will also invite the Army team's commander in chief (CG) together with his team and the minister. We're calling the chief government secretary and his staff, as well as the minister and his team, to find out more about what happened on the incident's tragic day.

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