Ekiti prison attack an inside job – Fayose

 

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called on the Federal Government to overhaul the workforce of the Federal Prison, Ado-Ekiti, over the Monday attack by gunmen.

The governor suspected that some officials of the prison might have collaborated with the gunmen that invaded the premises in the midnight of Sunday and freed over 300 prisoners.

Fayose, while addressing journalists during his visit to the prison, wondered how prison officials could allow hardened criminals and other detainees facing murder, rape, and other high profile cases to have access to the telephone.

He added that the way the bloody attack was successfully carried out without much resistance suggested suspicion of connivance. The governor also alleged that the jailbreak was successful because some of the prisoners, gunmen and warders were using telephones. He promised to take up the issue with the headquarters of the Nigerian Prison Service in Abuja

Our correspondent observed that the attack had affected activities at the Magistrate’s and High Courts in the state, as there were no prison vehicles in their premises on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, has offered to assist the federal prisons in beefing up security around their premises.

He told newsmen that his men would be deployed in the place to ensure reinforcement.

Our correspondent learnt that past efforts of the police to collaborate with the prison officials were not accepted by the prison commands.

Lakanu disclosed that 67 of those inmates that escaped during the attack, particularly the notorious ones facing armed robbery and murder charges had been re-arrested.

He revealed that the inmates picked up at various towns, including Ido-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti and Ado-Ekiti, were currently being detained at various police stations spread across the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Victor Babayemi, who also spoke with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, said the command would prosecute those re-arrested.

Babayemi, however, said some of the escaped inmates had voluntarily returned to the prison.

He said, “The CP personally led a team yesterday (Monday) to some of the hideouts. There was a serious exchange of gunfire. At that point, we were able to apprehend 10 of them. No live was lost. Investigation has begun.

“Some of them (prisoners) took cover and voluntarily returned. When they were questioned, they said they ran to save their lives.

“It is not a natural occurrence. We know some people are behind the attack and we want to ascertain if there is any complicity on the part of anybody.”

Babayemi said the command, with the help of local hunters, had rescued the abducted three nurses from the kidnappers’ den in the early hours of Monday.

He said the police had also recovered the car in which the nurses were travelling when they were kidnapped along Orin-Ido Road on Friday.

Babayemi said the family of the Local Government Director of Administration, Mr. Tayo Olawuyi, who was kidnapped last week Monday, had not been contacted by the abductors.

--Punch News