Two people have been confirmed dead after an attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Services, Abolongo, Oyo town, Oyo State.
At least two security operatives also sustained life threatening injuries in the late Friday night attack on the facility.
The deceased persons include an operative of Oyo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps and an inmate who was trying to seize the opportunity of the attack on the centre to escape.
A military officer attached to the Oyo State joint security patrol team codenamed Operation Burst and another Amotekun Corps member were said to be critically injured in the attack.
No fewer than 847 inmates of the facility were reckoned to have escaped during the attack.
However, 262 of the inmates have been re-arrested through collaborative efforts with the local security, including members of the Vigilante Group and Nigeria and local hunters, barely 12 hours after the attack.
At the time of filing this report last night, 575 of the inmates were confirmed to be at large.
According to a source, the Oyo Custodial Centre, which was established in 2007 with a capacity of 160 inmates, had a population of 907 inmates at the time of the attack.
The source added that out of the figure, 837 persons, representing 92 per cent of the inmates, were awaiting trial while 64 others were convicts.
Meanwhile, heavy security presence was noticed with reinforcements from the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police yesterday.
Vigilante operatives were also seen on motorcycles accompanying the patrol vans that were searching the nooks and crannies of the town for escapees.
At strategic locations, armed operatives were seen doing stop and search on vehicles, especially commercial cabs and buses.
During the visit, our correspondent noticed two vans of the Service bringing back re-arrested inmates who were led back into custody by the officials.
The main entrance of the facility, which was destroyed with grenade, was in a shambles.
Some of the high profile inmates detained in the facility include the Fulani warlord, Iskil Wakil; a serial killer Sunday Shodipe and the CEO of Crime Alert company, Mr Olaniyan Amos.
It was not clear at press time yesterday if the attackers were on a rescue mission of any of the inmates as was being speculated in some quarters.
Sources said the attackers were able to overpower the security operatives attached to the facility due largely to the sophisticated nature of their weapons.
Two burnt motorcycles were parked by the Observatory Tower. It was gathered that the grenade planted by the tower to destroy it made only little impact on the building but the effect resulted in the burning of the motorcycles and the tent nearby.
The lifeless body of the deceased inmate, dressed in jean shorts and a blue long sleeve shirt was seen by a side of the entrance. He was said to have been shot while trying to escape.
The residential quarters of the head of the facility was also damaged as the attackers attacked the building with grenades and heavy gunshots.
The top official was said to be away from the quarters at the time of the attack.
It was also observed that the iron door at the entrance of the main building of the centre was severely damaged.
Most of the damaged items were riddled with bullets and explosives.
Another source said the invaders arrived at the centre armed with sophisticated weapons, and after a fierce encounter with the officers on guard, gained entry into the yard by using dynamite to blast the wall.
The source further explained that while the attackers forced all the awaiting trial detainees out of custody, the cells housing the convicts and the female inmates were not vandalised.
Confirming the attack, the Controller of Correctional, Oyo State Command, Mr. Noel Ailewon, said close to 300 inmates of the facility who escaped during the attack had been captured.
Asked about the safety of the high profile inmates in the facility, the Oyo CC said they were in custody even though he neither confirmed nor denied the presence of the top names mentioned to him.
According to him, the gunmen that attacked the facility stormed the place around 10 pm on Friday in large numbers and with sophisticated weapons.
Ailewon said he was informed about the incident around 10:05 pm by the head of the custodial centre, noting that there were varying degrees of injury, but only one casualty was recorded. The casualty, he said, was an inmate that attempted to escape.
Journalists who visited Abolongo were not allowed to enter the main Custodial Centre.
The spokesperson of the command, Olanrewaju Anjorin, said journalists were not allowed entry into the facility because the place was being treated as a crime scene.
Shortly after the interview with Ailewon, recaptured inmates were brought into the facility in a mini Black Maria and later with another big one.
Efforts made by our reporter to confirm the identity of the security operative that died during the attack yielded no result as prison officials declined comments.
But the Director General of an Oyo State joint security outfit codenamed Operation Burst, Col. James Oladipo, said that no soldier died as at 1:30 pm on yesterday, saying, however, that a soldier was critically injured and he was not sure if he could survive the night injury.
But a group of soldiers that sat under a tree, apparently on a reinforcement mission to the facility, were heard discussing the death of one of their colleagues during the gun duel that ensued in the attack.
A pick-up van, belonging to Operation Burst was sighted a few metres to the entrance of the Abolongo facility, riddled with bullets.
Heavy bloodstains were noticed in the vehicle as the military officers tried to get the engine to work.
A top source in Amotekun Corps, who preferred not to be named, confirmed the death of one of them and injury to others, saying that the Corps would make the news public in due course.
Invaders used grenade during attack – Minister
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said yesterday that the situation in Abolongo custodial centre in Oyo State had been brought under control even though the attackers used grenades to overpower security forces around the centre.
He said that some of the inmates who escaped had been captured while security operatives were on the trail of others.
Aregbesola, who said he had been briefed on the incident by the Controller-General of Corrections, regretted that some inmates escaped, while others returned to the centre on their own.
He said the attack lasted about 20 minutes but there had been no report of loss of lives.
The minister, who spoke through his media aide, Sola Fasure, said the attack was launched at about 10 pm on Friday and was carried out by a large number of heavily armed gunmen.
He said: “Armed squad unit members of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies on guard at the facility engaged the attackers in a gun duel that lasted for 20 minutes before they were overpowered.
“The attackers subsequently used grenades and other explosives to gain access into the awaiting trial section of the facility and set free many of the awaiting trial inmates. Other sections of the facilities were left untouched.
“The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service has been on the situation immediately the incident occurred.
“The Minister of Interior has been briefed on the attack. He is monitoring the situation.
“He has assured members of the public to go about their normal businesses as the situation is under control.
“He also requires members of the public to report any suspicious movement or any sign of the escaped inmates and the gunmen in and around the vicinity to the nearest security post around them.
“Security agencies are on the trail of the escaped inmates, while a joint security services manhunt has been launched immediately for the apprehension of the assailants.
“This has led to the capture of some of the inmates while others returned voluntarily.
“However, those who are on the run are advised to turn themselves in, as escape from lawful custody is a serious offence. The full weight of the law will be brought on them when arrested.”
