Kuje Attack: Police Arrest Boko Haram Escapee As Ex-DSS Director Wants Panel Of Inquiry

Worried by the different angles of reports to the attack on Kuje correctional facility by some suspected terrorists, former director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor has called on the federal government to set-up a panel of inquiry to unravel what actually happened.

The retried director, who also insisted that enough intelligence were provided to all actionable agencies before the attack but nothing was done to forestall it, wondered how these terrorists came into the Kuje community without any detection and planned an attack of that magnitude.

This is even as a highly placed security sources said intelligence on planned attack in FCT and on Kuje prison were given to the actionable agencies in sequence up on July 4, 2022, a day before the suspected terrorists attacked and freed inmates from the correctional facility but nothing was done to stop them.

Speaking exclusively to LEADERSHIP, Ejiofor said he believes the agencies were not able to act because they were not equipped to do that.

He said at the level of interagency relationship, “if the SSS offers intelligence to a particular agency, the SSS must back it up with implementation strategies.”

While speaking on possible compromise on the parts of some security agencies, he said: “of course, there are a lot of compromises within the security agencies. The security agencies, especially the police and the army must look inward to fish out the bad eggs otherwise, all the exercise we are doing will be in futility ( it is the rat that is inside the house that will go out to tell the ones outside that there is food inside the house) because as you are planning your operations, they are leaking the strategies. So, there are compromises no doubt.”

Meanwhile, the Police Command in Nasarawa State says it has recaptured one inmate that escaped during the recent attack on Kuje Meduim Security Correctional Centre by terrorists.

This is contained in a statement signed by Ramhan Nansel, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) on behalf of Mr Adesina Soyemi, the Commissioner of Police (CP) in Nasarawa State.

The statement was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The PPRO said the fugitive was arrested by the police personnel of Keffi Division following intelligence.

“On July 9, 2022 at about 1:30am, one Hassan Hassan ‘M’ whose name and picture was amongst the escapees with Boko Haram/Terrorism Case was recaptured by the Police operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command at Keffi.

“The CP has ordered for the transfer of the suspect to a safer location while intensive search for other escapees continues.

“The fugitive will be handed over to the appropriate authority for further action,” the statement added.

It said that the CP expressed gratitude to police personnel in the state for their efforts and job well done. It said Soyime appealed to members of the public to help the police with useful information in case they saw others still on the run.