A total of 281 inmates have been confirmed to have escaped from the correctional center in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The development followed the severe flooding that damaged both public and private facilities in Maiduguri and some other parts of the state.
The Nigerian Correctional Service, while confirming the number of escaped inmates on Sunday, revealed that about seven of them have so far been recaptured and returned to custody.
The statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Umar Abubakar, said the flooding which occurred on Tuesday, brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre Maiduguri, MSCC and the staff quarters in the city.
Abubakar noted that upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the Service with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, it was observed that 281 inmates were missing.
He, however, said that the Service is in custody of the details of the escapees including their biometrics, stressing that it is being made available to the public.
The pictures of the fleeing prisoners was also circulated on Sunday.
“The Service is working in synergy with other security agencies as both covert and overt deployments have been activated to look out for them.
“Presently, a total of seven (7) inmates have been recaptured and returned to custody, while efforts are on ground to track down the rest and bring them back to safe custody.
“While this effort is on, the public is assured that the incident does not impede or affect public safety”, the statement added.
