The Osun State Police Command says it has not received any official communication from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) regarding the escape of seven inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa.
The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, saying that although the police were aware of the incident through intelligence reports, no formal report had been made by the correctional authorities.
“We also heard about the escape, but there is no official report made to the police by the NCoS. Our intel revealed to us that actually, there was an escape. The cause of the escape is what we don’t know because our men have gone there. From the intelligence report we got, there is nothing we can lay our hands on that made the inmates escape.
“The NCoS should inform us about what actually happened. The police are out to protect lives and property, and any criminal we see, we will apprehend,” Ojelabi said
According to NAN, the Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed on Tuesday that seven inmates went missing after heavy rainfall compromised the perimeter fence of the custodial centre at about 2:00 a.m. The storm, it said, created structural breaches that enabled the inmates to flee the facility.
In an official statement signed by the Deputy Controller of Corrections and Public Relations Officer, Umar Abubakar, the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and assured the public that all efforts were being made to locate and recapture the escapees.
“The service is working closely with sister security agencies as well as community leaders to recapture the escapees and bring them back to custody.
“However, the Service solicits the cooperation and support of the public in providing information that may lead to the recapture of the fleeing inmates,” the statement read
He noted that a manhunt has since been launched to track down the escaped prisoners.
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