Unknown gunmen stormed Kabba Correctional Centre in Kogi State in the early hours of Monday, killing two soldiers and releasing 240 inmates from custody.
The soldiers were said to have mounted routine checkpoint about 50 metres before the correctional centre along the Lokoja-Okebukun-Kabba highway when the hoodlums rained bullets on them.
The incident was confirmed in a statement by Spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Francis Enobore.
Enobore explained that the attackers who were heavily armed stormed the custodial centre in their numbers and immediately engaged the guards in a fierce gun battle.
The spokesman further disclosed that the Comptroller–General, Haliru Nababa has ordered a recapture procedure to be activated immediately and detailed investigation carried out even as he leads a team to assess the situation.
The Comptroller-General also appealed to the general public to furnish security operatives with useful intelligence that will assist in recapturing the escapees.
As of the time of the invasion, 294 inmates were in custody out of which 224 were pre-trial detainees and 70 convicted inmates.
CHANNELS TV reports that the latest jailbreak comes a few months after gunmen attacked the Nigerian Correctional Services and the police headquarters in Imo State, freeing 1,844 inmates, after which the hoodlums set the facilities ablaze.
The gunmen also razed the Imo State Police Command headquarters and burnt almost all the vehicles parked at the command’s headquarters. No fewer than 50 cars were set ablaze in the process.
The NATION also reported that some of the correctional officers on duty sustained serious injuries while another soldier was said to have been hit in the leg.
A source, however, confirmed that some of the prisoners were later rearrested about 8am on Monday beside Kudon Hotel, Kabba, when they made efforts to board a vehicle heading towards neighbouring Kwara State.
