Defence minister says 64 Boko Haram terrorists escaped from Kuje prison

No fewer than 64 Boko Haram terrorists were freed during the attack on the Kuje custodial centre in Abuja.

Boko Haram terrorists were said to have attacked the facility on Tuesday night.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that 600 inmates were said to have escaped from the custodial centre, and 300 have so far been captured.

Addressing journalists at the centre, the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd.), said 64 Boko Haram terrorists were held in custody, adding that all had been freed by the attackers.

He said, “Well, we too heard the attack. The incident started between 10 and 10:25 am the security operatives recaptured some. What actually happened was they came in their numbers and released some of the inmates. We are now trying to see the kind of inmates they released.

“We are trying to see what we can do to see that all escapes within the prison accommodation are brought back to the prison yard.

“About 994 inmates, we have about 600 already inside now. Many people are being recaptured. The people who came to do this from the records belong to a particular group, from all indicators they are Boko Haram.

“Currently, they are about 64 of them as inmates and we could not locate them.” Punch