Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola visited the Abolongo Custodial Centre and shared the latest updates on the prison attack in Oyo state on Sunday.
“I am assuring Nigerians that the federal government will pursue not just those who attacked our facility, but those who have escaped lawful custody,” Aregbesola said.
“The attack was unconscionable. I commend officers of the Nigeria Correctional Service and other members of sister security agencies who provided perimeter security for our facility for fighting gallantly and holding the fort before the attackers were able to gain access to the awaiting trial section of the facility.
“However, those who escaped are already being pursued. Some have been rearrested, many more will still be captured.”
Last week a group of armed men attacked a prison in southwest Nigeria, freeing about 575 inmates, officials said.
Olanrewaju Anjorin, an administration spokesperson for the prison in Oyo state, gave his testimony on the attack.
“A lot of inmates were rearrested after the attack, and it is still ongoing,” Anjorin said, without giving a specific number on how many prisoners had been freed or confirming whether there had been any casualties.
Aregbesola also confirmed that 446 prisoners had been rearrested. Authorities are currently hunting the rest of the fugitives.
“As at the last count, 446 of the escapees have been recaptured leaving 392 still at large. We want to assure Nigerians that the service has an updated database of the escapees which includes their biometrics,” the minister said.
