The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has been briefed by the
Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS, Haliru Nababa, on the attack on Kabba Medium Security Custodial Centre, in Kabba, Kogi State.
A statement signed by the media aide to the Minister Sola Fasure said during the attack, security officers on duty which comprised of 15 soldiers, 10 Police Officers and 10 armed guards of the NCoS on duty fought gallantly to repel the attack.
However two officers of the Correctional Service are yet to be accounted for while one soldier and a policeman lost their lives during the attack.
It was gathered that the Kabba Custodial facility had 294 inmates as at the time of the attack,
Many of them escaped after the gunmen used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence.
But there remains 28 inmates who didn’t escape, while one has also voluntarily returned to the facility as at this morning.
According to the Controller General of the Nababa, a crisis response centre has been activated and a Special Taskforce mobilised to recapture escaped inmates whilst an Inter-Agency Security Task Force is already on the trail of the gunmen who attacked the facility.
The statement further stated that the Minister of Interior, Aregbesola, assures the citizenry that Nigeria’s security forces will find the attackers and bring them to justice.
”We shall leave no stone unturned to bring them back to custody. We are also putting INTERPOL on notice with their details, in case any of them attempts fleeing outside our shores.”
“We urge the people, especially the communities around the custodial facility, to be vigilant and report any strange and suspicious persons or activities to the nearest law enforcement agency.”
For the fleeing inmates, the statement added that escaping from lawful custody is a serious criminal offence. Law enforcement agencies and citizens are lawfully empowered to use all necessary means to arrest and bring them to justice. It advised them to surrender themselves to the nearest Law Enforcement Agency and be eligible to mitigation.
