Heavily armed gunmen Tuesday night attacked Kuje Prison in Abuja freeing more than ninety percent of the inmates.
Sources revealed that the gunmen invaded the correctional centre around 10.30pm, with heavy bombardments and successfully operated for about one hour unhindered.
It was gathered that the invading gunmen, who came with trucks, went away with Boko Haram inmates at the Correctional centre. After the operation, other inmates, apart from Boko Haram members taken away by the gunmen, also escape.
Sources revealed that after the attack not more than 30 out of the over 1, 000 inmates were found at the correctional centre.
A prison staff, who confirmed the attack in a chat with PulseNets, said some of the attackers came from the back of the prison yard, while others arrived with trucks used to evacuate the targeted inmates.
PulseNets also learnt that other inmates have been removed from the facility including the suspended deputy commissioner of police, Abba Kyari, who was remanded at the prison by a Federal High Court.
Kyari is standing trial for allegedly dealing in cocaine alongside four members of his former police unit, the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Unit (IRT), and two other persons arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Enugu State, in January this year.
Gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Tuesday night attacked the prison facility in Nigeria’s capital city, and PulseNets learnt that the facility was ruined by the heavy firepower brought by the assailants.
Multiple sources told PulseNets that the gunmen invaded the facility around 10 pm.
Details about the casualties suffered in the attack were still sketchy at the time of filing this report, but one of PulseNets inside sources said many inmates were able to escape.
“The place was completely ruined and all the inmates have left the facility for now, including Abba Kyari,” one of PulseNets inside sources said.
“Most of the inmates have escaped from the facility; it is sad. It houses over 700 inmates,” another source said.
Earlier, while the attack was going on, one of our sources had said, “Can you hear the gunshot, we are under serious attack.”
Kuje prison was established in 1989, it has minimum and maximum holding cells where inmates are incarcerated.
It is famous for holding high-profile offenders, including former governors and ministers.
[…] The police in Adamawa State have arrested two inmates who were among those that escaped from Kuje Correctional Centre during Boko Haram terrorists’ attack in July 2022, Pulsenets reports. […]