It is becoming clearer that the Muhammadu Buhari’s regime is presiding over a nation replete with insecurity and wanton destruction of lives and properties. The government from investigations is encouraging the state of insecurity in the country.
The killings and jailbreak going on could on be carried out by state actors, people said, pointing out that a situation whereby gunmen would shoot into Prison facilities for hours and release inmates without challenge from security agents goes a long way to prove that the federal government’s hands are on it.
People interviewed across the country insisted that the gunmen operated for almost 4 hours during the jailbreak in Owerri, Imo State, South East of Nigeria, in Benin, South-south of the country, 3 hours, while the latest; Oyo, Oyo State, Southwest of the country, over 2 hours.
The Owerri case brought the belief to the fore as the location of the Correctional Centre, which is what the government calls the nation’s Prisons facilities, shares common boundaries with the headquarters of the Nigeria Police, Department of State Security Services (DSS) and Government House, Owerri.
The 32 Field Artillery Brigade is also few kilometers away. The Brigade Commander lives few metres within the vicinity.
Not even one security agent fired a shot at the invading gunmen throughout the duration of their highly destructive attack and subsequent release of inmates. It was gathered that the security agencies in the town were ordered to stand down as the gunmen operated, adding that the gunmen during any attack use sophisticated weapons such as hand grenade and others..
Till the time of writing, no one has been arrested in connection with the jailbreaks which is seen as a high level terrorism act against the people and the state. Now another jailbreak has occurred in Oyo.
In the core North, hundreds of people especially school children are being kidnapped daily with the federal government pretending to be helpless and the victims relations paying huge ransom to free their loved ones from captivity. Most these people being kidnapped, raped, tortured and oftentimes killed are Christians.
Meanwhile, suspected gunmen have attacked one of the facilities of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), in Oyo State.
It was gathered that the facility located in Oyo town christened Abolongo Correctional facility was attacked by the gunmen on Friday night and that the gunmen set all the prisoners at the facility free during the attack and that the attackers stormed the facility at about 10:30pm.
It was learnt that the attackers used grenades to gain access and set prisoners free.
Contacted, the spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in the state, Olanrewaju Anjorin confirmed the attack to journalists on Saturday. He disclosed that the senior officers of the agency were on their way to assess the level of damage.
His word, “yes. It has been confirmed that the attack actually happened. And right now, the comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) and other top officers are assessing the situation. But, I can confirm to you that the incident actually happened”.
Similarly, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State made a State wide live broadcast in reaction to the jailbreak on Saturday confirming the killing of a Corporal of Nigerian Army and an Amotekun Corp member and the fact that the gunmen attacked the facility on Friday at about 10:30pm.
It was gathered that they were armed with explosive and dangerous weapons and freed some inmates and left two security operatives dead on the spot.
The governor’s broadcast reads:
“My Good People of Oyo State,
I am addressing you today to update you about recent happenings affecting the security of our state.
“Last night, security operatives responded to a distress call about a jailbreak in the Abolongo Correctional Centre, Oyo Town. The correctional facility had been attacked with explosives, and some inmates were set free. Our security men were ambushed.
“As a result, we lost two of our security agents a corporal of the Nigerian Army attached to Operation Burst, and an Operative of the Oyo State Amotekun Corps, Tijani Sadiq Babatunde.
“Aside from the two lives lost, we had several operatives injured. I must mention that one of our Amotekun female volunteers, Shukurat Omoba, is presently in critical condition.
“I have visited her at the hospital, and we are deploying all state resources to ensure that she survives this.
“Please, let us all join in prayer for her speedy and complete recovery.
“Although some inmates have been recovered and taken back into custody, some are still at large. All security agencies have been placed on high alert to ensure that all that escaped are rearrested and returned to custody.
“I am therefore using this opportunity also to put the citizens on alert. There is no better time to repeat the call to action: if you see something, please say something.
“These criminals would want to go to areas where they will not be easily rearrested. If you spot any unexplained strangers in your community, please call the 615-security emergency number immediately, and make a report.
“I have directed the security agencies to deploy personnel to critical national assets within the state and to monitor all entrance and exit points across the state.
“I appeal to you, the good people of Oyo State, to remain calm. We are aware of the various speculations going round especially on social media regarding the reason for this attack. I urge you all to disregard any such rumours as the authorities are still investigating the matter.
“Rest assured that we will continue to do everything we are constitutionally allowed to do to secure our state.
“God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
God bless Oyo State”.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
