BREAKING: Over 600 Inmates Including All Boko Haram Suspects Escape From Kuje Prison – Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, has said that none of the Boko Haram suspects detained at Kuje prison in Abuja was found after the attack on the facilities on Tuesday night, Daily Trust Reports.

Addressing journalists after taking an assessment tour of the facility, the minister 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.

“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.

“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.

“I think everything is under control. The people who came to do this activities from the records we believe they belong to a particular group. Most likely, they are Boko Haram members because we have sizable 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.”

Also, Dr Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, according to The Punch has confirmed that over 600 of the inmates fled Kuje prison when the correctional centre came under attack late Tuesday night.

He stated that those behind the attack were Boko Haram terrorists who came specifically to free their members held in the custody.

He, however, said about 300 had been recaptured, while 300 were still at large.

Speaking while addressing journalists, he also said an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was killed during the attack.

He said, “There have been several attacks on our facilities most of them are being repelled, but every now and then, there is one that they have succeeded. In this is one they came very determined with high explosives.

“The initial entry attempt was unsuccessful, then they attacked another section of the wall with higher grade explosives which brought the wall down.

“The forces on the ground did everything they could to repel them but the number they came with was high which they were not able to defend against. They kept on fighting gallantly unfortunately the breach happened. Reinforcement came when they were halfway through it. They were eventually repelled.

“At the time they came in they killed one NSCDC operative while trying to save the situation. The inmates here are 994.

“We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically came for their conspirators. Many of them have returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding, right now we have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail.”