The Controller-General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, has disclosed that six out of the 13 prisoners that escaped from the Koton-Karfe prison in Kogi State have been recaptured.
He said that the six pre-trial detainees were recaptured with the assistance of other security agencies and local vigilante groups, noting that they had been returned to the prison.
Ahmed, who visited the Koton-Karfe prison on an on-the-spot assessment of the incident, confirmed that 13 inmates escaped from the prison on Saturday, comprising 10 pre-trial detainees and three convicts, according to a statement on Sunday by the Prison Service spokesman, Francis Enobore.
The CG said he had set up a panel to carry out detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape and forward the report to his office for necessary action.
He gave the assurance that appropriate measures were being put in place to address congestion in prisons, particularly among awaiting trial prisoners in line with the reform agenda of the Federal Government.
Ahmed further stated that security arrangement is being strengthened in and around prison facilities across the country to forestall future recurrence.
This was the third jailbreak recorded in Koton Karfe prison between 2010 and 2013.
The latest jail-break happened less than two months after two high profile inmates escaped from a prison in Abuja.
Solomon Amodu and Maxwell Ajukwu, who were standing trial for culpable homicide, broke out of escaped the Kuje Medium Security Prison, Abuja on June 24, 2016.
