Two convicted inmates escaped from the Okene Correctional Centre in Kogi State on Sunday, and security agencies are searching for them, police said.
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed that the escape occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 8.
In a statement Tuesday, the command’s spokesman, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, said police had received a report from the correctional centre. He said the command was working with the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies “to ensure the prompt rearrest of the escapees.”
“Efforts to trace and apprehend the fleeing inmates are ongoing,” the statement said.
Afusat said the statement was the first and only official comment he had made to the press on the matter. She said any information attributed to him beyond it should be disregarded unless the command officially confirms it.
The statement did not say how long the two men had been serving their sentences or how much time remained, and it did not give a description of them. Authorities did not say whether anyone had been arrested or disciplined in connection with the escape.
Reports identified the fugitives as Samson David, convicted of theft, and Salvation Moro, convicted of armed robbery.
Prison breaks and escapes from custodial centres have been a recurring problem in Nigeria. Officials have often cited aging facilities and overcrowding.
