Clearview Tv News as it breaks
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, says there are over 3000 inmates still at large following jailbreaks in Nigeria within the last year.
Speaking at a media briefing organized by the Presidential Media Team at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, Aregbesola further disclosed that 4,369 inmates escaped from various custodial centers from 2020 till date, and out of this, 984 have been recaptured.
This leaves the country with about 3,385 inmates out of custody.
According to Aregbesola, biometrics of all inmates in the country have been captured, and it is the hope of the Federal Government that this exercise will enable the escapees to be tracked with time and rearrested.
The former Osun State governor stressed that the recent attacks on some correctional facilities in the country are a reflection of the current insecurity situation in the country.
He explained that the government is on the trail of some of the attackers with a couple of them arrested in Imo State and assured Nigerians that a ministerial task force will soon be inaugurated to enforce the re-arrest of all escapees and their collaborators.
Aregbesola’s comments come a few weeks after gunmen attacked the Medium Security Custodial Centre in the Abolongo area of Oyo State.
An unconfirmed number of inmates are said to have escaped from the correctional facility during the attack.
A few hours after the siege, the Federal Government announced that operatives had recaptured some of the inmates who escaped.
The Interior Minister in his reaction to the incident assured Nigerians that “the Federal Government will pursue not just those who attacked our facility, but those who have escaped lawful custody”.
