Buhari visit kuje prison after attacked

 The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, has said over 600 of the inmates fled the prisons when it came under attack late Tuesday night.

Belgore stated that those behind the attack were Boko Haram terrorists who came specifically for their members held in the custody.

He, however, said about 300 had been recaptured, while 300 were still at large.

Speaking while addressing journalists, he also said an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was killed during the attack.

“The initial entry attempt was unsuccessful, then they attacked another section of the wall with higher grade explosives which brought the wall down.

“The forces on the ground did everything they could to repel them but the number they came with was high which they were not able to defend against. They kept on fighting gallantly unfortunately the breach happened. Reinforcement came when they were halfway through it. They were eventually repelled.

President Muhammadu Buhari has visited the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital hours after a terrorist attack on the prison facility.

 

SaharaReporters earlier reported that terrorists suspected to be members of Jamar Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladi Sudan, popularly known as Ansaru attacked the facility on Tuesday night and freed inmates, including their members and Boko Haram terrorists held in custody during the attack.

Though the Nigeria Correction Service’s spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, said one Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps officer and four inmates died during the incident, a source told SaharaReporters that 10 inmates were killed during the incident.

 

Another source also dismissed the claim by the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, that 64 Boko Haram members escaped, adding that over 201 members of the group were currently unaccounted for.

The president, who, like most Nigerians was shocked by both the scale and audacity of the attack queried:

“How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” Question after question.

The president, who was on his way to Senegal, was also informed that the security forces had recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others are still unaccounted for, and that rapid work is under way to recapture the rest.

Buhari, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff, said at the end of the visit that he is expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.

Meanwhile, the Presidency has dismissed the mounting criticism of the trip to Dakar, Senegal by the President.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman in a statement on Wednesday, stressed that: “Governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats.

“To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow.”

Also fielding questions on Tuesday’s attack on presidential convoy in Katsina State on Tuesday, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said no life threatening injuries was sustained by members of the convoy as being speculated.

He said: “You know, when a President travels almost anywhere in the world, there will be an advance team. That was the advance team that was going to Daura.

“The President himself is billed to travel to Senegal this afternoon (Wednesday) for an international conference, he will return to Abuja tomorrow, and thereafter proceed to his hometown, Daura for, Sallah.