By Gabriel Elozino
Undisclosed number of inmates have reportedly escaped from the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), Agbor, Ika South local government area of Delta state, following the collapse of the perimeter fence of the facility during a heavy downpour in the area on Monday.
Already heavily armed security personnel have been drafted to the facility to forestall any form of breakdown of law and order pending when the fence will be reconstructed.
However, locals claimed that scores of inmates at the correctional facility had already escaped as a result of the collapsed wall before the situation was brought under control with the deployment of the combined team of gun wielding security operatives.
The overwhelming presence of the stern-looking security operatives has caused apprehension in the area as residents are now in panic mood.
A source told The Trumpet that, “At the moment, there is heavy security presence. People are now very cautious in Agbor.”
The command has however denied that any inmate escaped from the facility due to the collapsed fence.
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The public relations officer of the NCS in the state command, Allen Iloba, who confirmed the collapse of the wall to our correspondent in Asaba, also said no casualty was recorded as a result of the incident.
He said the windy storm that blew off the fence occurred at about 4:00 pm when the inmates had been locked up in the cells.
“When there is such a storm, we usually lock up the inmates. So they had already been locked up in their cells, and when the rain came with the terrible storm, the left side of the perimeter fence fell down. The inmates were in their cells when the fence fell.
“Men have been drafted, we have men of the Nigerian Army on ground. We equally have operatives of the Nigerian Police Force, to complement the efforts and number of our personnel.
“We also have the conventional staff that you know before, they are on ground. That place is properly covered, the security there is water-tight. Everything is under control, we are on top of the situation,” he said.
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