Police in Akwa Ibom State said they have arrested an inmate who recently escaped from the prison in Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Odiko MacDon, identified the arrested inmate as David Ubong, from Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of the state.
“(The) suspect confessed to be one of the inmates who escaped from the Nigerian Correctional Service in the recent jail break at Owerri, Imo State on 5/4/2021. Until his conviction, the suspect was a resident of Obinze in Owerri, Imo State,” Mr MacDon, a superintendent of police, said in a statement issued on Friday in Uyo.
“Suspect will be sent back to face his jail term,” he added.
Recall that 1,844 were freed when gunmen attacked the prison headquarters in Owerri on April 5. The police headquarters in the state was similarly attacked by gunmen.
Francis Enobore, the spokesperson of the correctional centre, said the gunmen used explosives to blast their way through the centre’s administrative block before gaining entrance into the prisons yard.
“Six inmates have so far voluntarily returned to the facility while 35 inmates refused to escape from custody during the attack,” Mr Enobore had said in a statement, shortly after the incident.
Several states in Nigeria are grappling with various security challenges, including kidnapping for ransom, communal conflicts, and frequent clashes between herders and farmers.
The security challenge is getting more complicated with the spate of gun attacks on police and other security agencies, especially around Nigeria’s South-east and South-south regions.
