Boko Haram Raids 10 Prisons, Frees 2,255 Inmates

Between July 27, 2009 when Boko Haram terrorists first attacked the
Maiduguri Prisons and freed 482 inmates and October 29, 2014 when
another set of 366 inmates were following the overrun of Mubi, the
second largest town in Adamawa State, a total 2,255 prison inmates
have been freed from various prisons across the country in 14
different attacks.

Of this frightening number however, 194 of the escapee inmates have so
far been re-arrested.

Some of the jailbreaks recorded in the hands of Boko Haram include
that of Bauchi Prisons in September 2010, when 489 inmates were
released, Damaturu Prison attack on 24 June 2012 where 41 inmates were
released, Maiduguri Farm Centre, where 79 inmates were released, Gwoza
Prisons where 118 prisoners were freed, Bama Prison where 105
prisoners were freed and Ganye Prisons in Adamawa on 22 March , 2013
where 134 prisoners were released.

Chief Superintendent of Prisons and Spokesperson for the Nigerian
Prisons Service (NPS), Mr. Ope Fatimokun gave the figures in Abuja,
Wednesday, at the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response
Agencies (FOSSRA)/I-Nigerian Initiative media interaction in Abuja.

Koton Karfi jailbreak

"A total of 46 prison officers comprising forty two serving and four
retired personnel have been killed since the beginning of the
insurgency".

Fatimokun who identified inadequate budgetary allocation, prison
congestion, inadequate staffing, poor logistics, insurgency and
terrorism as some of the challenges facing the Service said as at June
this year, 56,785 inmates made up of 18,042 convicted and 38,743
awaiting trial persons were dwelling inside the 239 prisons located in
different parts of the country.

Among them, 947 of these were young male offenders, 151 foreigners, 10
babies and 1,439 have been sentenced to die.

Fanimokun observed that congestion of prisons is caused by a number of
factors including inadequate operational vehicles like the case in
Lagos and Kaduna with over 200 and 194 courts respectively but where
the NPS has only 20 and 10 vehicles to convey hundreds of inmates to
courts for trials.

He also canvassed for the provision of heavy arms and ammunition for
the service including helicopters and armoured personnel carriers for
it to be able to respond to incessant attacks on prison formations and
personnel.
--Vanguard