Jail break

Gunmen reportedly attacked a Nigeria Federal
Prison in Koton-Karfe, Kogi State on Sunday
night and freed some inmates.
Inmates
According to a resident who spoke to Daily
Trust, the attack which occurred at about 10.pm
was accompanied by heavy gunfire.
He said the heavy gunfire which left the town in
panic, injured two persons and left one dead
before a detachment of armed soldiers arrived
the town hours later, but the assailants had
already concluded their mission and fled the
scene.
READ ALSO: 20 Prisoners Escape In Ogun
Jailbreak
Koton-karfe which is a fishing community
located on the Lokoja-Abuja road, close to the
River Niger, is about 15 minutes drive to Lokoja
and over 100 kilometers from Abuja.
Another resident revealed that there was town
power outage during the operation and that most
of the residents who were running generator
quickly put it off following the sporadic
gunshots, making the town go completely silent.
He said the artillery gun fires lasted for an hour,
adding that some residents who came out to
peep were shot at and quickly returned to their
houses.
Meanwhile, Sahara Reporters said an escape
attempt by prisoners is being heavily repelled by
soldiers trying to restore order.
It would be recalled that in 2012, a similar jail
break suspected to have been carried out by the
Boko Haram members was reported at the same
prison although the Federal Government denied
it was carried out by the sect.
Reacting to the first jailbreak, Abba Moro,
Minister of Interior who visited the prison after
the attack insisted that it was hoodlums that
invaded the prison and not Boko Haram.
READ ALSO: Oko Jailbreak UPDATE: “Situation
Under Control”
However, it could not be confirmed who is
responsible for the current attack although it is
suspected it might have been carried out by the
Boko Haram sect following their recent attacks
in in the north eastern part of the country.
The state police command spokesman could not
be reached for comment as at press time.
Meanwhile, new reports have emerged that nine
of the 147 inmates that escaped on Sunday night
from Koton-Karfe federal medium security
prison have been rearrested.
The information was made known on Monday by
Kogi State prison authorities which also revealed
that the facility was believed to have been
attacked by suspected Boko Haram members.
It would be recalled that at the end of Ramadan
celebrations armed commando numbering about
15 attacked a jail in Edo State’s city of Oko,
freeing more than twenty detainees.