Two inmates at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS)’s custodial centre in Sapele, Delta State, have reportedly escaped from custody.
Five other inmates, who attempted to escape, were also shot and hospitalised, while some correctional officers sustained injuries.
A credible source told our Correspondent that the two unidentified inmates, who escaped and now at large, had access through the wall of the women wing of the Sapele facility.
Trouble started in the prison yard when some of the inmates were granted amnesty by the state government.
The State Government had recently granted amnesty to 150 inmates across the state as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The government’s action, Daily Trust gathered, stirred discontent among inmates, who began to revolt against what they described as ‘selective amnesty’, insisting they all deserved equal treatment as prisoners.
The source further disclosed that about five other inmates, who also attempted to escape, were forcefully brought down, badly injured and are now receiving treatment at the Sapele Central Hospital.
Another source, a security personnel, said; “the prisoners are totally misinformed, they thought that COVID-19 amnesty granted was for every one. So they are insisting it is for all of them.
He continued: “How can the amnesty be for all of them, when we have murderers, rapists, and other high level criminals among them? There are conditions for the amnesty and they should know that.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the state, Onome Onowakpoyeya, who confirmed the report, said: “Yes, it is true. Two inmates escaped in the early hours of Tuesday and five were maimed; they were shot while attempting to escape too and they have been hospitalised.”
When contacted, the NCoS PRO, Delta State Command, Deputy Superintendent Uche Mgbakor, said a discreet search party had been dispatched to comb the area of jailbreak for the fleeing inmates.
She, however, declined to give out the names and other information of the fleeing inmates as it could be counter productive to the ongoing search.
The NCoS spokesperson disclosed that the other five inmates, who sustained injuries during the jailbreak, are currently recuperating at the hospital.
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