Prisoners In Akwa-Ibom Protest Over Death Of Colleague

There is palpable tension at the Nigeria Correctional Service in Eket local government area of Akwa Ibom state as inmates in the early hours of Saturday protested the alleged killing of their colleague.

Our correspondent gathered that the protest was triggered after a prison staff allegedly beat an inmate to death Friday evening.

The irate inmates numbering over 100 insisted that the deputy comptroller in charge of NCS Eket must go even as they destroyed properties worth millions of naira including four cells internally.

In the midst of the confusion, a large number of prisoners tried to escape from custody but were stoutly prevented by warders who fired gunshots sporadically.

The source disclosed that inmates who tried to escape were injured and apprehended by the warders.

“The clinic facilities, kitchen, storehouses, pantry and other facilities and condemned the inmates cells and nearly all the facilities were destroyed,” a source who refused to be named said.

He explained that the inmates had created holes on the walls to ease their escape.

The Nation learnt that scores of heavily armed warders surrounded the hospital where the injured inmates were receiving treatment.

“The warders surrounded the hospital where the three inmates were hospitalised,” he said.

He observed that if not for the combined JTF, DSS, Police, detachment of neighbouring personnel in other local government areas including Uyo, the inmates would have escaped.

He noted that there were shooting sporadically to ensure that the inmates could not escape from the prison.