At least 228 inmates of the Koton Karfe correction centre (formerly known as prison) in Kogi reportedly escaped after it collapsed following heavy flooding that resulted from a torrential rain.
We understand that the development was confirmed by the comptroller general of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Jafar Ahmed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ahmed spoke with newsmen in Koton Karfe on Monday, October 28, saying that the flood happened at 3am.
According to him, the facility’s perimetre fence was submerged affecting the walls of two of the cells.
Ahmed, who noted that there were 228 inmates at the facility when the incident happened, added that the prison was not habitable after the flood.
Some of the inmates re-arrested are, therefore, being transferred to other prison facilities in the state.
On his part, a security adviser to Governor Yahaya Bello, retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, said at least 100 inmates had been re-arrested.
He, however, noted that some of the inmates returned on their own while some others reported themselves at police stations close to the centre.
Some of the escaping inmates were arrested by the combined team of policemen, army, navy and civil defence corps, he said.
