Police re-arrest 5 after Niger Republic prison escape

Police in Kaduna have arrested five prisoners who escaped from the Niamey Central prison in Niger Republic, the Police Commissioner, Alhaji Umar Shehu, said at a news conference yesterday.

According to him, two of the escapees are convicted prisoners serving life sentences while the three others are serving various jail terms. He said they were arrested based on intelligence information.

“The prisoners were said to be terrorizing people around Barnawa area of Kaduna South LGA. The suspects are Musa Abdullahi 35, Adamu Dansharo 33, Hamma Mohammed 32, Muhammadu Shehu 28 and Abubakar Hussaini 23.

He said the police recovered a Toyota Prado Jeep with registration number: NUS 479 EY which he said was snatched at gun point by armed bandits.

“When we received the distress call, patrol teams were immediately alerted and the vehicle was intercepted near Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria by Operation Yaki patrol teams. The bandits in a bid to escape engaged the patrol teams in a fierce gun battle, three of them were arrested while one escaped with bullet wounds”, he said.

Those arrested he said, include; Joshua Yarakawa 30, Umar Isah 22 and Dahiru Mohammed 26. One of the suspects, Dahiru Mohammed, however said he was only a victim of circumstance. “I was in my house when Umar Isah came and asked me to escort him to Kano from Lagos. I am a dealer in black oil and I have never been involved in robbery acts”, he said. Umar Isah who interrupted Dahiru, describing him as a coward, said they all belonged to the same gang and were together when they snatched the car.