Anxiety in FCT, Kwara, Ekiti over 240 fleeing inmates

• Gunmen kill soldier, policeman in Kogi prison attack

There was anxiety on Monday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and six states sharing boundaries with Kogi State.

The panic led to heightened security following Sunday night’s gunmen attack on the correctional facility in Kabba, Kogi, resulting in the escape of 240 inmates.

The whereabouts of the inmates, some of them condemned hardened criminals, are unknown, causing fears that they might be headed to neighbouring states.

The Kogi government has also raised the security to red alert, seeking information on the movement of the escapees.

Police in Kwara, Edo, Osun, Ekiti and Niger have taken measures to secure the states and boundaries.

In the FCT, Force Police spokesman Frank Mba, a commissioner of Police, said the force had activated all its operational and intelligence platforms in pursuit of the escapees.

Mba told one of our reporters that all hands were on deck to re-arrest the fleeing inmates.

According to him, the force will collaborate with the NCS to forestall a further breakdown of law and order.

The police spokesman said: “We have experience in dealing with matters of this nature and we will dig deep into our operational experience and toolbox to make sure we get them rearrested.”

Urging the inmates to voluntarily turn themselves in, Mba said: “We have activated all our operational and intelligence platforms in pursuit of the escapees or the suspects and also in assistance and support of the correctional services.

“We are making all our intelligence and operational services available to the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) and we will work with the NCS as well as other patriotic citizens of this country to make sure that those suspects are rearrested as quickly as possible.

“In that vein, we are advising the suspects to give up voluntarily or face the law.”

The Kwara Police Command said it has closed its borders to forestall infiltration of any of the escapees to the state.

Command spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi said policemen in Kwara are collaborating with their colleagues in Kogi to arrest the escapees and their accessories.

Ajayi said: “The command is combat-ready to ensure there is no spillover. That’s why all our borders between Kogi and Kwara are now closed.”

In Osun, Commissioner of Police, Mr Olawale Olokode met with the Controller of the Custodial Centre in the State Command of the NCS, Olanrewaju Amoran.

The Command said its men have been put on the red alert to apprehend criminals, especially those who escaped from the Kabba custodial centre.

Spokesperson of the Command Yemisi Opalola, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed to our correspondent that the CP’s meeting with the Controller of the Custodial Centre was on how to fortify security around the facility in the State of the Living Spring.

The Edo Commissioner of Police, Phillip Ogbadu, ordered Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and other policemen in the state to be on the alert over the jailbreak in Kogi.

Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bello Kontongs, quoted the CP as saying that patrols in the 18 local government areas of Edo had been intensified to prevent the invasion of the state by escapees from Kogi.

Ogbadu also tasked all policemen in the state and the various police formations in Edo to closely monitor and check suspicious movements across the three senatorial districts.

He admonished Edo residents to offer useful and timely information to the police about criminals in their midst, particularly the escapees from the Kogi jailbreak. The police chief promised to shield the informant’s identities.

The Ekiti State Police Command said it has beefed up boundary security in a bid to arrest the fleeing inmates from Kogi.

Police spokesman, Sunday Abutu, told our reporter on the phone that policemen had been placed on the alert to apprehend the fleeing inmates.

According to Abutu, operatives and undercover intelligence personnel had been deployed in all boundary communities.

He said: “We are working in collaboration with our counterparts in Kogi to ensure the arrest of the fleeing inmate. Our men are already in the towns that share a boundary with Kogi, Ondo, and Kwara states.

“Security at the border towns has been beefed up and surveillance intensified to prevent the inmates from seeking refuge in Ekiti.”

Officers and men at the Niger State Police Command have been put on red alert.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Abiodun Wasiu, a DSP, told The Nation that officers and men in Lapai axis were on the lookout and on patrol to ensure that no prison escapee find their way into Niger state.

He said: “The Command is aware of the effect this might have in the state because we share a common boundary with Kogi.

“The Command has therefore taken some proactive measures and has placed its officers and patrol teams across the state on red alert and being watchful of strange faces who might be wandering around as visibility policing is reinvigorated.

“Members of the public were equally admonished to be more vigilant and be security conscious in our various communities, by informing security agencies whenever something strange is observed in their localities.”

Some residents in Lapai Local Government Area, the route to Kogi from Niger, said they were confident that the escapees cannot find their way into the state.

Baba Musa, one of the residents in Gulu, said for the escapees to be able to make it to Niger State, they would have to board a boat that will open them up to suspicion.

He said: “Everyone is aware of what happened in Kogi and we are all on alert and we are ready to question or report any strange face we see coming into the state through the river. We do not doubt that if anyone tries to come in, we will know.”

He said that those who ride the boats have also been put on the alert.

“I have noticed more security presence today which means that the Police are also on the alert. So, we have nothing to fear,” he said.

Security personnel deployed in the Ondo North Senatorial District have been put on the red alert over the possible influx of fleeing inmates from Kogi.

It was learnt that Amotekun Corps have also been deployed to strengthen security.

The Amotekun Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said his operatives, including the intelligence units, had been alerted to the Kogi jailbreak.

Adeleye assured that any fleeing inmate from Kogi would be arrested and sent back.

He stated that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had previously tasked the corps to watch out for fleeing bandits and insurgents from other parts of the country.

Ondo Police spokesman, Fumilayo Odunlami, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said policemen at the Ondo boundary towns with Kogi State had been on the alert.

Odunlami urged the locals to report any suspicious movement of persons or any strange persons in their community.

(The Nation)