A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – At least 119 inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger State, have reportedly escaped from custody after the heavy downpour on Wednesday night destroyed parts of the facility.
This was revealed by the spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Adamu Duza, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
The statement said, “A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger state, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of 118 inmates of the facility”.
Duza explained that the Service immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies, have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while still in a hot chase to recapture the rest.
Duza noted that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era and therefore, are old and weak, adding that the Service is making frantic efforts to ensure that all ageing facilities are modernised.
“This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.
“The Service wishes to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance.
“The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,” Duza added.
– Vanguard