Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed, has confirmed that five of the 13 prisoners who escaped from Koton Karfe prison in the early hours of Saturday have been rearrested.
This is contained in a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Service, Francis Enobore, and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
The statement said Ahmed confirmed the re-arrest of the inmates when he made an on-the-spot assessment of the prison.
It said the five pre-trial detainees among escapees were re-captured with the assistance of other security agencies and local vigilante groups, adding that have been returned to the prison.
The statement said Ahmed had constituted a three-man panel to carry out detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape and forward the report to his office for necessary action.
It assured that appropriate measures were being put in place to address congestion in prisons particularly among prisoners awaiting trial in line with the reform agenda of the Federal Government.
The comptroller-general stated that security arrangement is being strengthened in and around prison facilities across the country to forestall future occurrence.
The 180-capacity all male prison facility inaugurated in 2014 accommodated 263 inmates as at the time of the jailbreak.
