The federal government has confirmed that the Kabba Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kogi was breached by armed hoodlums.
The spokesman to the Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, Mr. Sola Fasure, said the Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa had provided a brief.
Fasure, in a statement, said security officers on duty, comprising 15 soldiers, 10 police officers and 10 armed guards of the NCoS, fought gallantly to repel the attack.
“Regrettably, two officers of the Correctional Service are yet to be accounted for while one soldier and a policeman lost their lives”, he noted.
The Kabba Custodial facility had 294 inmates, many of whom escaped after the gunmen used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence.
However, some voluntarily returned to the facility this morning, while 28 inmates did not escape.
Nababa is believed to be on a tour of the affected facility.
The government has established a Crisis Response Centre and activated a Special Taskforce mobilized to recapture escaped inmates.
“An Inter-Agency Security Task Force is already on the trail of the gunmen who attacked the facility. The public is advised to stay calm as the situation is under control.
“We are also putting INTERPOL on notice with their details, in case any of them attempts fleeing outside our shores”, the statement added.
Aregbesola assured that security forces would find the attackers and bring them to justice.
The minister appealed to communities around the prison to be vigilant and report strange and suspicious persons to the nearest law enforcement agency.
