The Osun State Police Command has disclosed that it has not received any formal notification regarding the escape of seven inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, was reportedly triggered by severe rainfall that compromised the facility’s perimeter.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that while the command is aware of the incident through intelligence reports, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has yet to officially brief the police on the situation.
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“We heard also about the escape, but there is no official report made to the police by the NCoS,” Ojelabi said. “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 hands on that made the inmates escape.”
He emphasized the police’s commitment to public safety, stating: “The police is out to protect lives and property, and any criminal we see, we will apprehend.”
According to NAN, the Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed that the escape was due to structural damage caused by a heavy downpour around 2:00 a.m., which breached the facility’s security perimeter and enabled the inmates to flee.
The Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, through a statement issued by the NCoS Public Relations Officer, Deputy Controller of Corrections Umar Abubakar, ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.
He assured the public that all necessary measures were being taken to recapture the fugitives.
“The Service is working closely with sister security agencies as well as community leaders to recapture the escapees and bring them back to custody,” the statement read. “We solicit the cooperation and support of the public in providing information that may lead to the recapture of the fleeing inmates.”
Security agencies have since launched a coordinated manhunt to locate and return the escaped inmates to custody.
