Fears have gripped residents of Abuja and neighbouring states following the revelation that no fewer than 64 inmates undergoing trial for terrorism and another 879 inmates of Kuje Medium Correctional Service, Abuja, were among the escapees after the attack on the facility on Tuesday night.
Minister of Defence, Bashir Salihi Magashi, who made the confirmation after visiting the site yesterday, emphasised that the attackers, mainly Boko Haram members, specifically came to free their members in detention.
Residents living close to the area said heavy gunshots, which started at about 10 p.m., lasted close to an hour. They said it was not clear who the gunmen were, but it was believed they were some criminal elements.
Though the minister said only one Civil Defence personnel lost his life during the attack, prison officers displayed three corpses as additional casualties.
A prison officer alleged conspiracy, claiming that despite the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), and submachine gun at the disposal of the security agents on guard, there was no attempt to deploy the weapon.
“The terrorists that came for the operation did not touch the APC and the submachine guns but burnt down the official and personal cars beside them. There was no single resistance from the security forces on ground to confront the attackers. As of Monday this week, they had beefed up security around the prison following an intelligence report of a possible attack. They increased the numbers of the army, police, Civil Defence and our own armed squad, yet none of them was courageous enough to attack the terrorists.
“In fact, the Civil Defence personnel who lost their lives were the only ones who tried to display gallantry, but they paid with their lives because they could not listen when the military, police and their colleagues warned them to go into hiding. The response rate from the security guards was not encouraging at all.
“Inside the prison was completely empty in the morning because virtually all inmates had escaped. From what I gathered, one of the terrorists had broken into the office where they kept files and destroyed or burnt them so as not to leave any record about them. I also gathered that they made an attempt to break into Abba Kyari’s cell but it was difficult for him,” he explained.
Asked why the army responded too late and equally failed to act on the security report, the Defence Minister said: “If people give timely intelligence at the right time, I am sure we would have reacted promptly. But when it is not coming at the time you don’t expect us to react. There is every likelihood that the situation is going to be interpreted on the basis of being quick or slow. From what we discussed now, I am sure that every security agent that came to Kuje Prison participated in every way possible to ensure that the prisoners did not escape. Our happiness is that many of them have been recaptured. There was reinforcement because the Brigade of Guards was fully in charge,” he said.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Shauib Belgore, explained that out of over 950 inmates in Kuje Correctional Centre, over 600 of them escaped, adding that over 300 have been recaptured.
NCoS’s spokesman, Mr Abubakar Umar, in a statement, said the attackers broke into the facility using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility, respectively.
