14 Inmates Re-arrested in Akwa Ibom Jail Break

• FCT frees 114 prison inmates in spirit of yuletide

Okon Bassey in Uyo and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Prison authorities yesterday confirmed that 14 inmates out of 47 that escaped from the Ikot Ekpene prisons in Akwa Ibom State have been arrested by the prison guards with a committee in place to probe the incident.

The state Controller of Prisons, Alex Oditah, who disclosed this said those rearrested were seen within the Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area where the prison is located.

He said efforts are being made to ensure the remaining 33 still at large are located and arrested to complete their jail term.

Sources alleged that the jail break recorded in the prisons could have been masterminded by some high profile convicts who were serving their imprisonment including those who murdered the former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly

The prison with the capacity of 400 inmates, sources said was already overstretched with over 800 inmates.
However, the state Controller of Prisons said the cause of the incident could not be ascertained yet explaining that a three-man committee has been set up to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the problem.

He stressed that the findings of the committee would give a clue to the cause of the jail break whether it was an insider arrangement or not.

Oditah maintained that no stone would be left unturned in establishing the fact behind the crisis that led to the jail break.

Last Wednesday, inmates serving various jail terms and some awaiting trial at the Ikot Ekpene Prisons initiated jail break which led to the killing of four persons while 47 others escaped

The inmates were said to have launched attack on kitchen staff of the prisons seizing an axe from fellow inmate attached to the kitchen and inflicted a deep cut on the head of their colleagues.

The prisoners reportedly broke the rear entrance door to the prison with the axe and engaged the staff that chased them in battle.

“At the end of the scuffle, four of them that sustained gunshots lost their lives, while seven were recaptured 36 are still at large and search parties have been activated to effect their recapture,” official statement from the prison service had said.

Meanwhile, prison inmates totalling 114 thursday breathed an air of freedom after their court fines were paid by the FCT Administration.

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, announced the reprieve, when the Presidential Committee on Prison De-congestion visited the Kuje Medium Security, to review cases of inmates who have either been fined but could not pay the stipulated fines or have stayed beyond the terms which their offenses could have attracted by law.

A statement by Abubakar Sani, the Special Assistant (Media) to FCT Minister said the gesture by the FCT administration was part of efforts to de-congest the prisons and assist the freed inmates to reintegrate back into the society.

The minister was represented at the event by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Christian Chinyeka Ohaa.
He assured the FCT Administration would continue to partner presidential committee to identify and support indigent inmates who do not have the means to pay the fines imposed on them.

He said the administration has been partnering with the Nigerian Prison Service to design and build new prison facilities in the territory, adding that about 36.3 hectares of land has been earmarked for the building of a new prison in Abuja.

Bello also revealed that locations have been identified in the six area councils to build correctional centres for youths, adding that the centres would be dedicated solely for underage inmates rather than putting them together with high profile criminals in prisons.

In addition to the 114 inmates freed by the FCT minister, 10 were also freed by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and one each by PLAC, a non-governmental organisation and Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, bringing the total of 126 inmates freed.