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| A Nigerian Prison |
Twenty inmates of the Nigerian prison in Sagamu, Ogun State, have escaped, prison authorities claimed four of them have been re-arrested.
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Prisons Services, Mr Zakari Ibrahim, confirmed the escape, which happened early Wednesday [Jan 2], describing the incident as "unfortunate and embarrassing".
Ibrahim spoke with newsmen when he visited the Sagamu Prison yesterday [Jan. 4]:
"I am here because of the issue of escape and I came personally to see what has happened and to ensure that things are done right". "My visit is also to ensure that any staff found culpable face the full wrath of the law; we have set up a committee that will give us full report of what happened".
"What I can tell for now is that we have 20 inmates who had escaped and we have re-arrested four of them". "I have addressed the staff and I have told them that their commitment must be full and total; those who want to embarrass us should just leave".
If investigation into the matter reveals that the incident was as a result of negligence of some of our staff, they will be dismissed and punished accordingly. "Some of them (staff) will also be prosecuted and may even change uniforms.
The fleeing inmates broke the prison's fence and injured some prison officials in the process of escaping.
The jailbreak which occurred around 3.00am Wednesday, some of the inmates as well as prison officials were seriously injured.
There were also reports of heavy gunfire.
A prison source added that the revolt by the prisoners who used all sorts of materials as missiles and weapons was however later contained by the members of the Armed Squad of the Prison Service who were initially taken by surprise.
The run-away prisoners were said to have created a large hole on the wall at the back of the prison through which they escaped in the confusion caused inside the prison by their unexpected violent revolt.
- NAN
