A corporal in the Nigerian Army and an operative of Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) were casualties on Friday, October 22, 2021, when yet-to-be-identified armed men stormed the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abolongo, Oyo town at about 10pm and had an encounter with security personnel before setting 837 inmates free.
The gunmen, whose number had yet to be ascertained, were reported to have broken into the custodial centre, using sophisticated weapons, grenades and dynamite to blast the wall in order to gain entry.
It was further gathered that the Amotekun operative and soldier were going in a convoy in response to a distress call by the prison officers when they were ambushed by the armed men and killed.
Confirming the invasion when contacted, the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Olanrewaju Anjorin, said that the cause of the jailbreak had yet to be ascertained.
Anjorin also disclosed that a total of 262 of the escapees had been recaptured, while 575 were still at large.
He said that the invaders forced all detainees awaiting trial out of custody, but that the cells accommodating the convicts and the female inmates were not vandalised.
“Following the directives of the Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, the state Controller, Noel Ailewon, has commenced the process of ‘search and recapture’ after visiting the scene of the incident.
“He assured that no effort will be spared to recapture the fleeing inmates, even as he solicited for credible intelligence to aid security agencies in tracking down the fugitives.
Anjorin said further that security had been beefed up in and around the town, while security personnel had been stationed across Oyo town to note strange faces and question such.
“If an escapee is among the people, such will be returned to the correctional facility,” he stated.
He added that calmness and serenity had been restored in the town, with the residents returning to their normal daily activities.
He enjoined the people to report any suspicious person to security agencies to rid the state of criminal activities.
In a telephone interview, the Commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Col. Olayinka Olayanju (retd) confirmed the death of one of the Corps’ officers, whose name he gave as Sodiq Babatunde, saying that he was hit in the spine.
Also, he said that a female operative sustained a head injury, with several others injured.
The female operative was said to have been admitted to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
Col. Olayanju however said that about 30 of the fleeing inmates were arrested at different locations by Amotekun operatives in the early hours of Saturday.
The Deputy Director of Army Public Relations in 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Iweha, also confirmed the death of a soldier but did not disclose further details.
The Public Relations Officer of UCH, Mr Toye Akinrinlola, also confirmed the admission of the female Amotekun operative in the hospital.
The UCH PRO said that patient had been moved from the resuscitation room into a cubicle in the accident and emergency ward, adding that she had become stable.
Oyo Custodial Centre was established in 2007 with a capacity of 160 inmates but at the time of the attack, according to the PRO, it had a total population of v907.
Of the number, awaiting trial persons were 837, representing 92 per cent, with just 64 convicts.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has reacted to the Oyo custodial centre’s invasion by attackers, assuring members of the public to go about their normal businesses, as the situation had been put in control.
Aregbesola, in a statement made available to the media on Saturday by his Media Officer, Sola Fasure, said: “At about 10.00 pm yesterday, October 22, 2021, a large number of heavily-armed gunmen attacked the Abolongo Custodial Centre, in Oyo, Oyo State.
“Armed squad unit members of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies on guard at the facility engaged the attackers in a gun duel that lasted for 20 minutes before they were overpowered.
“The attackers subsequently used grenades and other explosives to gain access into the awaiting trial section of the facility and set free many of the awaiting trial inmates. Other sections of the facilities were left untouched.
“The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service has been on the situation immediately the incident occurred.”
The minister’s spokesman said that he had been briefed on the attack, and was monitoring the situation.
Fasure added: “He (Aregbesola) also requires members of the public to report any suspicious movement or any sign of the escaped inmates and the gunmen around the vicinity to the nearest security post around them.
“Security agencies are on the trail of the escaped inmates, while a joint security services manhunt has been launched immediately for the apprehension of the assailants.
“This has led to the capture of some of the inmates while others returned voluntarily. However, those who are on the run are advised to turn themselves in, as an escape from lawful custody is a serious offence. The full weight of the law will be brought on them when arrested.”
The Oyo Command’s Controller of Corrections Service, Noel Ailewon, has however promised that the command would do its best to get fleeing prisoners and bring them back to the custodial centre.
The Controller made the promise when he led his team to the correctional facility in Oyo town early on Saturday to assess the level of damage during the jailbreak.
