Attack on Ekiti Prison

At least one prison official was feared killed with over 20 sniffer dogs dead on Sunday night when some gunmen stormed the Federal Prison, on Afao-Ekiti road in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The Comptroller of Prison, Mr. Kehinde Fadipe, who confirmed the attack, said the gunmen were not Boko Haram members.

Sources said the gunmen numbering about 60 stormed the prison in Hilux trucks with dangerous weapons, including cudgels, cutlasses, AK 47 rifles and charms.

Another source said the attackers were chanting ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’ (God is the greatest) during the attack on the prison, where some inmates were set free.

It was learnt that as soon as the gunmen arrived the prison, they detonated a bomb after which they engaged in sporadic shootings that lasted for more than 30 minutes.

There were also insinuations that the attack was staged to set free a murder suspect, Mr. Adeniyi Adedipe, who is facing criminal charges over the murder of a former state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Chief Omolafe Aderiye.

Adedipe was a former coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress in the state.

As of the time of filing the report, journalists were not allowed into the premises of the prison.

There were blood stains on the road leading to the prison.

Another source said a top official of the state Prisons Command, who was rushing to the scene to see what was happening, was shot dead.

As journalists were waiting for briefing, one of the prisoners that escaped walked in, saying he ran out when he heard sporadic shooting at night but had to come back.

Fadipe, who confirmed the attack to journalists on Monday, denied that any life was lost during the attack.

He said he was not aware of the shooting of any of the officials of the state command.

He said, “We are moving around to assess the situation. It was not a jail-break but an attack on the prison. The main entrance of the prison was broken.

“What happened is that we were attacked from outside not from within. They came with different weapons. They attacked our men on duty and we have been here since 10.30pm yesterday (Sunday).”

The comptroller said his men were already out to re-arrest inmates that escaped during the attack, although he did not give figures.

He however dispelled the insinuation that the Boko Haram insurgents were responsible for the attack.

He wondered how the group could have attacked the Prisons when none of its members was in the prison custody.

Fadipe also faulted the thinking that members of the OPC might have been responsible for the attack.

He confirmed that Adedipe, a.k.a ‘Apase’, was still in their custody.

As of the time of filing this report, fully armed security men have intensified surveillance around the prison and all adjourning roads.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress has called on the police in the state to build a strong security around the prison, saying the Peoples Democratic Party may be planning to attack the facility with a view to killing the suspect and other inmates.

The Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Taiwo Olatubosun, who spoke on the telephone with journalists, denied any link with the attack. He described it as another ploy by the PDP to tarnish the image of the APC in Ekiti State.

He said, “What shall we gain for doing that, we cannot do such a thing. It is not in our character to do such things.

“Very soon, the PDP and the governor will have to accuse God for running a clueless government and for their shortcoming.”

Olatubosun said the government was talking from the “figment of its imagination”, asking “is it the APC that is in charge of the prison or the security of the state? It is the figment of their imagination that the APC is connected with the breaking of the prison. We don’t know anything about it.”