There was mild drama on Wednesday at the Isale-Oko area of Sagamu, Ogun State, after two inmates attempted to escape following a court proceeding.
PUNCH Metrolearnt exclusively on Sunday from a source in the area, who requested anonymity, that the incident had occurred while officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service were attempting to return the inmates to custody.
The source noted that two of the inmates had fled before the NCoS officers gave a hot chase.
The source added that the officers had arrested one at the spot and the other later that day.
The source said, “A mild drama happened at Isale-Oko yesterday when two inmates escaped while being transported back from court in Sagamu.
“One was rearrested immediately, while the other escaped; however, I later learnt that he had been captured.”
When contacted in a telephone conversation on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Command of the NCoS, Olayinka Owolola, confirmed the incident.
He noted that the inmates had attempted to flee but were tracked down by officers and rearrested.
He added that the inmates would be re-prosecuted for trying to escape.
“They attempted, but we captured the two of them without any shooting or injuries. We have the intention of retrying them in court for escape,” Owolola said.
Instances of inmates trying to escape or jailbreaks are not a new phenomenon in the Nigerian correctional system.
In August, 16 inmates escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Keffi, Nasarawa State, after breaching the facility’s security.
The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, had said that the inmates had reportedly overpowered personnel on duty during the breakout, adding that five officers had been injured in the incident, while two sustained injuries and were treated at a government hospital.