About nine months after the attack on Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja by terrorists leading to the escape of many inmates including Boko Haram members, an escapee has been arrested in Nasarawa State.
The escapee, Salisu Buhari, was arrested on Thursday by the operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command in Nasarawa local government area of the State through a sting operation.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ramhan Nansel, said that Buhari was arrested alongside another suspect for motorcycle theft.
DSP Nansel, however, said that the suspect confessed that he was among the inmates who escaped from Kuje Correctional Center during the July 2022 attack on the custodial facility.
The development has brought to two the number of escapees from Kuje Correctional Center recaptured by the Nasarawa State Police Command in the State.
Recall that few days after the incident, an escapee, Hassan Hassan, a suspected Boko Haram member, was rearrested in Keffi local government area of the State by operatives of the Command.
LEADERSHIP recalls that authorities of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had said that 879 inmates escaped from the facility following the attack.
They had said that, “443 of the escapees have been recaptured while 551 inmates are currently in custody, and 443 inmates are still at large.”
While some of the inmates were recaptured in some States across the country, others returned to the facility on their own freewill.
But a significant number of them are still at large.
Checks by LEADERSHIP revealed that Buhari was among the escapees declared wanted by the Nigerian Correctional Service after the incident.
A profile of the inmates published by the Service gave his identity number as 0693/19.
The information also indicated that Buhari was born on January 1, 1999 and hails from Nasarawa State.
The statement by DSP Nansel on the rearrest reads: “On 6/4/2023 at about 2200hrs, Police operatives attached to Nasarawa Division in a sting operation arrested the duo of Zubairu Ali 27yrs and Salisu Buhari 24yrs for Motorcycle theft in Nasarawa LGA of Nasarawa State.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects are responsible for most motorcycle snatching and theft in Nasarawa LGA and its environs.
“Upon interrogation, Salisu Buhari confessed to have escaped from Kuje Prison when the facility was attacked last year, linked up with his crony, and went into criminal venture.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Maiyaki Baba , has ordered the transfer of the case to State Criminal Investigation Department, Lafia, for exhaustive investigation.”
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