A premium Correctional Service Center, the Kuje Medium Prison, in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja, came under severe attack by heavily armed terrorists who laid siege to the facility on Tuesday night and by the time they were done, hundreds of dangerous criminals, including fellow terrorists, were released into the society.
Residents of the immediate vicinity of the prison who sent out distress messages on social media at the time of the attack which occurred at about 10:30pm, narrated how the gunmen who numbered over 100, used explosives and machine guns to overpower the security operatives stationed at the prison reputed to be one of the safest in the West African country.
The frightened residents also revealed that the terrorists invaded the facility from the back of the premises which has less security personnel and shot their way into the facility where they attacked the officers on duty and ended up releasing some of the inmates believed to be members of terrorist groups locked up in the prison.
While confirming the attack on the Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory, in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) said calm has been restored to the area as the armed squad of the service were on the trail of the gunmen in collaboration with other security agencies.
“I wish to confirm that at about 2200hrs, some yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, in the Federal Capital Territory.
“However, men of the Armed Squad of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies attached to the Custodial Centre have responded and calm has been restored to the facility and the situation is under control. Other details will be made available soon.”
In the last three years, several prisons across Nigeria have come under attacks by gunmen whose main objectives have been to free some inmates.
Prisons in Owerri, Imo State in the South-East region of Nigeria, Kogi and Plateau States in the North-Central, Ibadan, Oyo State and Owo in Ondo State in the South-West, have been attacked by gunmen where thousands of inmates were freed.
According to Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, in an interview in November 2021, a total of 4,369 prisoners were set free by the gunmen in the various attacks on the custodial centres during various incidences of prison breaks, with many of them yet to be recaptured.