Jos Prison Attack: Nine Killed, 262 Inmates Escaped, 10 Recaptured

Sunday’s attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Jos, Plateau State, has left in its trail, nine deaths and 262 inmates, who succeeded in escaping from the facility.

A statement from the correctional service has also confirmed that 10 out of those, who escaped were recaptured by security agents.

According to the statement by spokesman of the Custodial Centre, Francis Enobore, one of the gunmen trapped in the facility, has been identified as one of those killed in the gun duel.

The statement read in part: "The attackers, who stormed the Custodial Center at about 1720hrs on Sunday 28th November 2021, engaged the Nigerian Correctional Service(NCoS) armed squad personnel in a fierce gunbattle before breaking into the yard.

"Sadly, one of the NCoS Armed Squad personnel paid the supreme price in the encounter while nine inmates also lost their lives. Another staff of the Service was shot in the hand and six inmates were also injured in the attack.

"Meanwhile, some of the attackers and a total of 262 inmates escaped in the melee beforè reinforcement could come from sister services. However, ten have so far been recaptured, leaving 252 at large."

The statement further added: "The Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, condoled with the family and friends of the gallant officer, who paid the ultimate price in the encounter, promising that the death will not be in vain as all the perpetrators will be hunted and made to face the full wrath of the law."

He thanked the officers and men of other security agencies for their assistance in bringing the situation under control and assured members of the public that the safety of inmates, including their care and support, would continue to be a top priority in his administration.

Giving the statistics, he said Jos Medium Security Custodial Centre as at the time of attack, had 1,060 inmates comprising 560 pre-trial detainees and 500 convicts.

The state police command also said that nine fleeing inmates were arrested by the men of the force, while one voluntarily surrendered himself. The arrest was made during a stop and search operation carried out by the Police.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Gabriel Ubah, said the stop-and-search on vehicles helped the police in making the arrest.

He said despite the purported trapping of some assailants in the prison, there has been no arrest recorded as security agents said profiling of those in custody was ongoing, though the office holding the records of the JCC was set ablaze by the invaders.

As at press time, officials of the Centre were still trying to ascertain the extent of damage to the facility, take a proper head counts of the inmates and positively identify the bodies.

Meanwhile, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, has condemned the attack and described it as unfortunate.

The governor, however, praised the gallantry of officers and men of the Custodial Centre, who rose to the occasion to thwart the plans of the criminals whose mission was to facilitate the escape of inmates and also cause destruction to the facility.

Lalong, in a statement, praised the quick reaction of other security agencies including the Police, Operation Safe Haven, DSS, NSCDC and Operation Rainbow, who responded swiftly to the situation and took charge of the general area, leading to entrapment of the assailants as well as arrest of fleeing inmates.

Describing the event as one too many in the nation's correctional system, Lalong said it was high time a wholistic approach was applied to bringing such attacks and jail breaks to an end in order to guarantee the safety of inmates, correctional officers, and the larger society from criminals, who choose to attack the very essence of Nigeria's legal system by disrupting law and order.

He directed an immediate boosting of security measures around all Custodial facilities in the state, assuring them that the state government would work with the federal government in every way possible to ensure that all correctional facilities in the state were protected from such attacks.