281 inmates escape Borno prison, seven recaptured after flooding

281 inmates escape Borno prison, seven recaptured after flooding

Seven out of 281 inmates that escaped from the correctional centre in Maiduguri, Borno State, have been recaptured.

The escape followed the severe flooding that dismantled the prison wall as well as damaged other public and private facilities in Maiduguri.

The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed the number of escaped inmates on Sunday.

It said seven of them had so far been recaptured and returned to custody.

The statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Umar Abubakar, said the flooding which occurred on Tuesday, brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre Maiduguri, MSCC and the staff quarters in the city.

Abubakar noted that upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the Service with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, it was observed that 281 inmates were missing.

He however said that the service was in custody of the details of the escapees including their biometrics, stressing that it would be made available to the public.

The pictures of the fleeing prisoners were also circulated on Sunday.

The statement said, “The Service is working in synergy with other security agencies as both covert and overt deployments have been activated to look out for them.

“Presently, a total of seven (7) inmates have been recaptured and returned to custody, while efforts are on ground to track down the rest and bring them back to safe custody.

“While this effort is on, the public is assured that the incident does not impede or affect public safety.”