There were reports that angry residents of Umuawom village, Ihodimeze community in Ikeduru council area of Imo State on Wednesday ambushed and set ablaze a fleeing prisoner, who returned home from the Owerri Correctional Centre which was attacked on Monday.
Scooper News gathered that the fleeing prisoner, whose identity could not be ascertained as at press time, was said to have hailed from the nearby Ogwa community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State but grew up in Umuawom village, which is his maternal home.
He was said to have been involved in a kidnap activity that involved one of the families in Umuawom village but was eventually apprehended and remanded in custody for over one year.
However, when he escaped from the Correctional Centre on Monday, he was said to have gone straight to one of the families that testified against him and threatened to deal with them.
It was gathered he attempted to carry out his threat by attacking a member of the family in Umuawom village with a gun.
Village sources told The Nation that his daring move prompted villagers to pounce on him and immediately set him ablaze.
Spokesman for the Police Command, Orlando Ikeokwu, said he had heard about the incident but could not officially confirm it.
BOMBSHELL: How 4,058 Prisoners Were Freed In Attacks On Prisons, Police Cells In Last Six Months
Hoodlums and other criminals have consistently unleashed attacks on police stations and correctional facilities across the country since the #EndSARS protest.
There have been an upsurge in the number of attacks on police and prison formations across the country since the #EndSARS protest that shook the foundation of Nigeria.
Recall that in October 2020, several Nigerian youths protesting against extrajudicial killings and police brutality besieged the streets to demand the proscription of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
However, the protests were hijacked by hoodlums who inflicted injuries on peaceful protesters while committing other atrocities.
Scooper News gathered that On October 19, 2020, the Nigerian government claimed that nearly 2,000 inmates broke out of jail after crowds attacked a prison in Edo and Ondo respectively.
Information from the Interior Ministry spokesman, Mohammed Manga, revealed that an armed group of people attacked two prison facilities, subduing the guards on duty.
He said 1,993 inmates were missing in the Edo Prison break
“Most of the inmates held at the centres are convicted criminals serving terms for various criminal offences, awaiting execution or standing trial for violent crimes,” he said in a statement.
On October 22, 2020, over 58 inmates at the National Correctional Service Centre in Okitipupa, Ondo State escaped during another prison break.
It was learnt that the gunmen freed all the suspects in almost all the cells at the SCID.
Comments