INSIDER: Abba Kyari disappears after Kuje prison attack, over 600 flee, 300 recaptured
•NSA, Security Chief visit Kuje prison •One Dead , many Injured •Heavy security presence in Kuje communities CONTROLVERSY has surrounded the whereabouts of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, after bandits attacked Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, where he was kept. The PUNCH had reported that gunmen attacked the Custodial Centre in the Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Tuesday night. During the attack which lasted hours, some inmates were said to have escaped. The Kuje prison is famous for holding high-profile inmates and suspects, including former governors and ministers. According to officials, the facility houses over 900 inmates. “We have not seen him today. He didn’t also come for Subhi (early morning) prayer as usual. But I don’t know what is happening,” a source in the prison told our correspondent. Another official, who preferred anonymity, said that the whereabouts of Kyari remained unknown to him as of 09.30am. “I am sure he is not missing and he didn’t escape. But I don’t know where exactly he is,” the official said. When contacted, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, said “Kyari is not missing”. Abubakar also noted that Kyari has not been moved from the Kuje prison. “He is still in our custody. Nothing happened to him. He has not been moved,” he told The PUNCH on the telephone. Abubakar in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday said the armed squad of the service in collaboration with other security agencies responded to the attack. The statement was titled, “Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje attacked by gunmen.” It read, “I wish to confirm that at about 2200hrs, some yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, in the Federal Capital Territory. “However, men of the Armed Squad of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies attached to the Custodial Centre have responded and calm has been restored to the facility and the situation is under control. “Other details will be made available soon.” During a visit to the facility, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Mr Shuaibu Belgore, also confirmed that about 600 inmates escaped from the Kuje Correctional Centre following Tuesday evening’s attack. Belgore explained that over 300 of the inmates have been retrieved. He suspected that the gunmen attacked the facility to rescue their terrorism co-conspirators. The official added that one person died and three others were injured during the attack. Over 600 inmates escape from Kuje prison 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. He said, “There have been several attacks on our facilities most of them are being repelled, but every now and then, there is one that they have succeeded. In this is one they came very determined with high explosives. “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. “At the time they came in they killed one NSCDC operative while trying to save the situation. The inmates here are 994. “We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically came for their conspirators. Many of them have returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding, right now we have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail.” Attackers burn vehicles, pull down wall at Kuje prison No fewer than seven vehicles belonging to the Nigerian Correctional Service were razed by explosives detonated by the terrorists who attacked the Kuje Custodial Centre. Also, a wall of the prison was pulled down with explosives. The centre had come under attack from terrorists on Tuesday night. The PUNCH had reported that no fewer than 600 inmates escaped from the centre in the course of the attack. About 300 have been recaptured. Both the air component of the Nigerian Police Force, the Armed Squad of the Nigerian Correctional Service, the military and the Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps, vigilantes group are combing nearby bushes to recapture others. Justify security spending, CSOs tell FG The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Katsina State on Wednesday asks the Federal Government to justify the money being spent on security by ensuring the safety of lives and property of Nigerians. The coalition made the demand while reacting to Tuesday’s death of the Dutsinma Area Commander, ACP Aminu Umar, in a gun duel with terrorists. The coalition in a statement by its Katsina Chairman, Abdulrahman Abdullahi, lamented the death of the Police Area Commander, insisting that the incident speaks volumes of inadequacies in Nigeria’s security system. The statement read, “It is disturbing that government’s inability to provide our security men with working tools and chase bandits to their enclaves is continually resulting in loss of gallantry Officers like ACP Aminu Umar and other innocent Nigerians. “The bandits are gradually becoming stronger and bold by the day. The fight should be taken to their enclaves using land and air forces. But unfortunately, the airforce and army are not striking with the needed force. You will see fighter jets flying in the sky but when you ask for casualties you can’t see any. Bandits are attacking innocent people a few miles away from military bases but no intervention. ” Money is