By Tony O'Riley-
The search for close to 100 inmates who escaped from a prison in Nigeria on Monday night after torrential rains in central part of the county desperately continues.
Torrential rain which destroyed a fence that separates the prison building from the public enabled the mass escape which is now worrying the authorities there
The “perimeter fence” of the facility in Kogi state was destroyed by rains and cells flooded, forcing inmates “to break out of custody for safety”, Francis Enobore, of the Nigerian Correctional Service, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“A torrential downpour on Monday 28th October, 2019, caused a surging flood that overran the centre at about 02:00 hours (GMT) pulling down a section of the perimeter fence,” Enobore said, adding that “122 of them took the opportunity to escape, 105 remained on the spot”.
“Twenty-five of the escapees have been recaptured, leaving 97 still at large.”
The criminals are said to be dangerous and in jail for crimes that range from rape to murder, a source from BBC Nigeria told The Eye Of Media.Com by phone. Nigeria has recently been affected by heavy rains that have continued to fall after the end of the rainy season. The central states of Niger, Benue, Kogi and Taraba have particularly been affected by flooding in recent months.
The rains have destroyed crops in Nigeria’s key agricultural belt, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. In the northeastern state of Adamawa, over 40 villages have been totally destroyed by the downpour in recent days, according to local news reports said.
The escape shows the fragility of the fence and calls for more effective barriers to be erected in Nigerian prisons. With economic hardship affecting a large population of Africa’s most populous countries, its criminals are hardened and pose a strong danger to its citizens.
Image: bbc.com