President Muhammadu Buhari, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff on Wednesday, visited the Kuje custodial centre after Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the facility.
Giving details of the attack, the Nigeria Correction Service’s spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, said one Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel, four inmates died during the incident, while 16 inmates and three custodial officers were injured during the attack.
In a statement on Wednesday, Abubakar said the terrorists used explosives on the center’s fence and its main entrance to gain access to the facility, thereby making room for 879 inmates escape from the facility while 443 had been recaptured and 551 are still at large.
He concluded by saying “The Service will deploy its Corrections Information Management System in synergy with National Identity Management Commission to track all fleeing inmates and return them to custody.”
But Buhari who spent a few minutes at the centre was was briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Mohammad Lamido Belgore, and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa.
The President was taken to the bombed-out section used to access first, and the records office which was set on fire, adding that the invaders thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.
The President, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.