Ben Dunno, Warri
Following yesterday’s failed attempted jail break at the Nigerian Correctional Service, Warri, otherwise known as Okere Prisons, a detachment of soldiers from Sector 1 Command of ‘Operations Delta Safe’, have been stationed at strategic points within the facility vicinity.
This security beef up at the facility location coincided with a confirmation by the Delta state government that all the 1007 (one thousand and seven) inmates of the Correctional Centre were intact and there was no record of an escapee during the attempted jail break melee.
Our Correspondent who visited the Correctional centre yesterday, observed that all the access roads the facility had been cordoned-off by a team of military personnel and mobile policemen from the Delta state police command, apparently to forestall further havoc by the hoodlums who may likely be reinforcing to stage a come back.
The Commander, Sector 1, Colonel Sanni Ahmed, whose timely arrival at the scene of the attempted jail break on Thursday, repelled the hoodlums, was seen at the Correctional centre today in company of Hon. David Tonwe, Director General (DG) Security, to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, conducting an on-the-spot accessment of the facility.
Speaking with newsmen after the tour of the facility, the DG Security to Delta state government, Hon. David Tonwe, reaffirmed that there was no case of an escapee at the facility during the attempted jail break on Thursday as the soldiers arrived early enough to curtail the hoodlums.
He disclosed that the prison authority just concluded the head count of the inmates both males and females the facility and none of them have been confirmed to be missing.
He however urged to the government to as a matter of urgency commence the reconstruction of the administrative buildings, security posts and main entrance of the facility as well as imates cells that were set ablaze by the inmates during the attempted jail break.
According to him, “I’m here today to observe the development. I want to make it clear that yesterday during the failed attempt to break the prison we are here and the insinuations that some inmates ran away, i want to correct that motion that no escapee was recorded”.
“The military prompt action during the incident was able to force the hoodlum to retreat and normalcy was restored to the facility. We have being inside where the head count of the inmates was carried out and there was no record of any missing inmates at the facility”.
“I want to appeal to government to as a matter of urgency commence the rebuilding of the burnt administrative buildings so that the prison officials can have a roof over their heads to work and also the reconstruction of the inmate cells that were razed, so that the congestion currently being witnessed in the facility can be sorted out”.
Meanwhile, soldiers attached to the 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army Barracks, Effurun near Warri, have succeeded in dispersing the #EndSARS protesters that had earlier occupied the major NPA Expressway to the Effurun and DSC Roundabouts.
The Commanding Officer (Area) of 3 Battalion, Major Ismael Hussain, was reported to have led a team of soldiers who moved around late Thursday night to the protesters vacates the major expressway the #EndSARS protesters had occupied since the beginning of the protest.
Also at Enerhen area, the military in conjunction with the policemen attached to the Enerhen police station, have repelled hoodlums who had wanted to take advantage of the #EndSARS protest to set some buildings ablaze and in the midst of the confusion, burgle shops and residential buildings in the area.
The Divisional Police Officer (,DPO) of the Enerhen unit, CSP Mukhtari Bello, was said to have stayed awake all through the night of Thursday till this early morning to ensure that the hoodlums were prevented from carrying out the carnage and criminal acts in the area.
