Edo Prison Break: 185 Condemned Convicts, Over 1000 Others on the Run

Matilda Omonaiye/

No fewer than 185 condemned prisoners escaped during yesterday’s attack on two correctional facilities in Edo State by suspected hoodlums.

Condemned prisoners are those sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

Over 1000 other inmates also escaped from the two prisons.

The hoodlums reportedly took advantage of the ongoing nationwide #EndSARS protests to attack two police stations, Oba Market and Ugbekun police stations, from where they carted away arms and ammunition.

They also set fire to Ugbekun police station.

They then proceeded to attack the Central Correctional Facility, also known as White House, on Sapele road and subsequently the Oko Medium Security Correctional Facility, on Airport road.

Out of the over 1000 fleeing inmates, NewsmakersNG learnt that over 100 including eight females have been rearrested.

In Oko, warders were reportedly taken hostage and held as human shields as prisoners filed out.

Two warders, identified simply as Benson and Ben, were said to have suffered gunshot and head injuries during the initial standoff with the hoodlums.

The Edo State government has declared an indefinite 24-hour curfew in the state as a result of the development.

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