By John Ikani
The Federal Government of Nigeria says it is still on the trail of about 3,906 inmates that escaped from the Correctional Services in different parts of the country.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola who disclosed this during a media briefing on Thursday, said the government is still trying to track down many of those that escaped.
Heritage Times recalls that large-scale prison breaks have happened in Edo last year, and Imo this year, leading to the escape of thousands of inmates, many of them awaiting trial.
Correctional Centres in Kogi and Ondo state also suffered jailbreaks during the 4th quarter of 2021.
What the minister said:
According to him, a total of 4,860 inmates escaped from the centres from 2020 to date. Out of this, he said, 954 have been recaptured, adding that the government has captured biometric details of all inmates working with INTERPOL.
“How long can they continue to run from the state? The state is a patient bird. You can run but you can never hide.
“We have their biometrics. Whenever and wherever they appear to transact any business, their cover will be blown,” he said.
He added: “I will like to inform Nigerians that we have captured the biometric information of all inmates in the facilities of Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) working in partnership with the Nigerian Identity Management Commission, NIMC.”
At least 3,906 inmates who have escaped from different custodial centres across Nigeria are still at large.
