After Rain Damages Nigerian Prison, Almost 100 Prisoners Escaped

According to a spokesman for the prison service, at least 118 prisoners broke out of the prison after torrential rains on Wednesday night damaged the building in Suleja, close to the capital of Nigeria. Spokesman Adamu Duza said in a statement on Thursday that the several-hour-long downpour destroyed the perimeter wall and adjacent structures of the medium-security jail. With the assistance of other security agencies, service agents have managed to apprehend ten of the fugitives thus far in their pursuit. “We are in hot pursuit to recapture the rest,” Duza stated. He gave the populace the assurance that the police were in control of the matter.

Although Boko Haram Islamist insurgents have previously been imprisoned in Suleja jail, Duza did not provide information regarding the identities or affiliations of the escaped prisoners. Nigeria, a country with conditions conducive to escape due to overcrowding, underfunding, and inadequate security, has seen a significant increase in the number of prison breakouts. Poor infrastructure and terrorist attacks have allowed thousands of prisoners to escape in recent years. One such incident was the Islamic State’s attack on a high-security prison in the capital Abuja in July 2022, which resulted in the release of some 440 prisoners. He went on to say that the service is working “frantically” to update its jail system, building six new facilities with a combined capacity of 3,000 and renovating the ones it already has.