Kuje prison attack: Inmates` money not stolen – NCoS

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed reports that fleeing inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, during the attack, stole money (local and foreign currencies) belonging to their fellow inmates.

The spokesperson of the NCoS, Mr Abubakar Umar, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

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Some media reports had alleged that personnel at the Kuje Custodial Centre could not account for the sum of N82 million and $36,000 cash belonging to inmates.

Hundreds of terrorists on July 5, launched a daring attack on the facility, bombing their way in.

They freed 879 inmates, among whom were at least 64 with terror-related charges on their necks.

Umar, however, explained that its personnel did not keep such huge sums within custodial facilities.

He said that the clarification became imperative against the misleading narrative the unfounded information had generated and the diversion of attention from addressing the challenges at stake.

According to him, all Inmates’ cash deposited in the custody of the authorities of the custodial centre was intact and safe.

“There is an existing instruction from the Controller General, NCoS, Mr Haliru Nababa, that all officers superintending custodial centres must not keep huge sums in the facility,” he said.

Umar said the NCoS would not spare any effort or resources in hunting down all the escapees.

He assured the public of the NCoS’ irrevocable commitment to bringing back all escapees to answer for their crimes.

The NCoS boss appealed to citizens to assist in achieving the task by visiting the NCoS website https://corrections.gov.ng/escapees for the pictures of the escapees and alert the nearest security agency on suspicion. (NAN)