Osun Inmates Escape: Police await official briefing as manhunt intensifies

The Osun State Police Command says it has not received formal notification from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) following the escape of seven inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa.

Spokesperson of the command, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, told reporters on Wednesday that the police had only gathered intelligence about the incident but were yet to be officially briefed by correctional authorities.

“We also heard about the escape, but there is no official report made to the police by the NCoS. Our Intel revealed to us that actually, there was an escape,” Ojelabi stated.

He added that while police operatives had visited the scene, no concrete information had emerged on the circumstances that led to the jailbreak.

“The cause of the escape is what we don’t know because our men have gone there. From the intelligence report we got, there is nothing we can lay our hands on that made the inmates escape,” he said.

“The NCoS should inform us about what actually happened. The police are out to protect lives and property, and any criminal we see, we will apprehend.”

The jailbreak reportedly occurred during a downpour around 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, which damaged part of the facility’s perimeter, enabling the inmates to flee.

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Confirming the incident in an official statement on Tuesday, Deputy Controller of Corrections and Public Relations Officer, Umar Abubakar, said the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, had ordered a full-scale investigation.

“The service is working closely with sister security agencies as well as community leaders to recapture the escapees and bring them back to custody,” Abubakar said.

“However, the Service solicits the cooperation and support of the public in providing information that may lead to the recapture of the fleeing inmates.”

In response to the breach, security agencies have launched a coordinated manhunt to track down and return the escapees to custody.

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