Four inmates lost their lives while 36 other prison inmates yesterday escaped from the Ikot Ekpene Prison. A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Akwa Ibom Prisons Command, ASP Ogbajie J. Ogbajie, said the jailbreak occurred about 1147 hrs yesterday, following “an attack on kitchen staff that were on duty at Ikot Ekpene Prison in Akwa-Ibom State by some prisoners.
“They seized an axe from fellow inmates attached to the kitchen, inflicting a deep cut to inmates’ head in the process and immediately made for the rear entrance to the prison. They broke the door with the axe and engaged the staff that chased after them in battle. “At the end of the scuffle, 4 of them that sustained gun shots lost their lives while 7 were recaptured. Thirty-six are still at large and search parties have been activated to effect their recapture,” he said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the Controller of Prisons, Akwa Ibom State Command, Alex Oditah has ordered an investigation into the circumstance surrounding the unfortunate incident, he said. The CP appealed to members of the public to assist the authority with useful intelligence that will aid the arrest of the fleeing prisoners, assuring that security has been strengthened in all prison formations in the state to forestall breach of security
