Security agents arrest escaped inmate vandalizing transformer in Kogi

The Kogi State Government has disclosed that one of the inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kabba has been arrested by security agents in the state after he was caught vandalising a transformer belonging to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

The development was disclosed by the State Security Adviser, Commodore Jerry Omodara, at a peace camp organised by Actionaid Nigeria, in collaboration with the Participation Initiative for Behavioral Change in Development (PIBCID) in Lokoja, the state capital.

Although the name of the captured inmate was not mentioned, the state government said the suspect was arrested on Sunday, 26th September.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that unknown gunmen suspected to be bandits had attacked the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kabba, and freed over 200 prisoners, killing some security personnel on guard.

According to Omodara, about 132 inmates who escaped from the facility have been received back to the custodial centre.

Omodara said: “Immediately we noticed little changes and attack in the last three weeks, we doubled our efforts, rejigged our security architecture, and today I can assure you that we are getting it right again. The attack on a correctional centre in Kabba, as of this morning, we have received 132 inmates back into the correctional centre.

“We are getting it right because the focus has been to ensure that Kogi is safe. Security is a work in progress and we cannot say we have finished with it. Even in the United States you still see attacks, here and there.

READ ALSO: Kogi govt blames politicians for Kabba jailbreak

“The fleeing inmate who was caught in Kabba vandalising transformer is back to the detention centre. The place is better fortified now. He went to vandalise the AEDC transformer alongside one other suspect. He was arrested.

“We discovered that a lot of transformers are being vandalised around the Kabba area. During our security meeting, we mounted surveillance, and that success was recorded yesterday. It has shown that it is in the blood. These criminals will not change. He was among the inmates that ran out of our correctional centre. He went back to society to commit more crimes. Again, he has met his waterloo.”

Meanwhile, Omodara called on the judiciary to ensure speedy trials of all the suspects in custody.

“If we have a speedy trial of these people, we won’t have a large number being sent out of our custodial centre,” he added.

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