THE Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has debunked reports that money in both local and foreign currencies was stolen by inmates fleeing the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
The Public Relations Officer of NCoS, Umar Abubakar, said in a statement he issued today that cash deposited by inmates of the facility was safe,
The prison’s officers, Abubakar said, were not keeping huge sums of money in the facility.
“We wish to inform the general public that the report in some quarters that the fleeing inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, stole money (local and foreign currencies) belonging to their fellow inmates, is not true.
“All inmates’ cash deposited in the custody of the authorities of the custodial centre is intact and safe as there is an existing instruction from the Controller-General of Corrections that all officers superintending custodial centres must not keep huge sums in the facility,” he said.
He also noted that the theft allegation was diverting attention from the important issue of recapturing the escapees.
“This clarification becomes imperative against the misleading narrative the unfounded information has generated and the unpatriotic diversion of attention from addressing the challenges at stake.
“The Controller-General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, is sparing no effort or resources in hunting down all the escapees and it is heartwarming that the integrated strategies are yielding favourable results,” he said.
Following an attack on the Kuje Correctional Facility on Tuesday, there were reports that the sums of N82 million and $36,000 belonging to some high profile inmates were stolen by the gunmen.
The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) had claimed responsibility for the attack in a video released a day after the attack.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94