2 Escape in Kuje Prison Break
There was controversy yesterday over the whereabouts of a brother of Henry Okah, jailed leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) Charles Okah, following a jail break at the Kuje Maximum Prison. Early reports said that Okah escaped in the jail break, but the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) insisted that the inmate is still in prison.
The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Francis Enobore, confirmed to Daily Trust on Sunday that two inmates escaped and that they are still at large. He, however, refused to disclose the identities of the escapees.
“Yes there was an incident, but Okah was not involved. I can confirm that two inmates are missing after the jailbreak and they are still at large. We can’t give out the names now because that will jeopardize any attempt for us to get them back”, he said.
Okah is on trial in Abuja for the 2010 Independence Day bombing that killed 27 people.
Enobore, who said it would be too early for the Service to disclose how the inmates broke out, noted that the Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed had already set up a panel to investigate the incident within the shortest time frame.
“All the officers on duty are already being questioned and I can assure you that anyone found culpable will be punished appropriately,” he said.
Daily Trust gathered that the two inmates who escaped were still awaiting trial following allegation of suspected culpable homicide. An online newspaper gave the names of the inmates that escaped as; Maxwell Ojukwu from Delta state and Solomon Amodu from Kogi state.
Our reporter who was at the prison facility gathered that no explosive was used by the prisoners to break out as residents said they didn’t hear any sound of explosion.
“It would obviously be an insider job because there was no gun fire and explosion all through last night. I didn’t hear anything until this [Saturday] morning,” one of those residing close to the prison facility told our reporter.
An inside source suggested that the inmates escaped around 7:30 PM Nigerian time on Friday. The prison presently hosts high profile inmates standing trial for corruption.