Bashir Magashi, minister of defence, says none of the Boko Haram suspects detained at Kuje prison in Abuja was found after the attack on the facilities on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, a group of terrorists attacked the Kuje medium custodial centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital with bombs in an apparent move to gain entry into the facility and free some of its members.
The incident had happened at about 10:25pm with bomb blasts as well as sporadic gunshots that left residents in panic mode.
It was also gathered that the Nigerian Correctional Service NCS (Kuje prison) had earlier received intelligence reports that one of its facilities could come under attacks.
This attack had come shortly after an attack on the security team attached to President Muhammadu Buhari.
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Magashi, while addressing journalists after taking an assessment tour of the facility on Wednesday said, “The attack started around 10:30pm. They came in their numbers gained entrance into the prison and they released some of the inmates and which we are now following to see the kind of inmates that they have released.
He also said that high-profile Boko Haram suspects and bandits aka Very Important Prisoners (VIPs) escaped during the invasion of the prison on Tuesday night.
“Very soon, we will give you the correct figure of the inmates that were taken. Aside that, we are trying to see what we can do to ensure that all escapees are returned back,” he said.
“The prison is accommodating about 994 inmates and over 600 escaped. Many people have been recaptured and brought back to the prison. Maybe by the close of the day, more will have been captured and returned.
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“I think everything is under control. The people who came to do this activity, from the records, we believe they belong to a particular group. Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have sizeable number of Boko Haram suspects in detention, and presently we cannot locate any of them.
“I think they are about 64 in the prison and none of them now is available they have all escaped.”