Soldiers Guarding Kuje Prison ‘Redeployed’ Hours Before Attack

New reports emerging on Wednesday allege that soldiers attached to Kuje Medium Correctional Centre were removed and redeployed hours before Boko Haram terrorists attacked the facility.

Naija News reports that over 600 inmates escaped from the facility after the attacks, but high-profile inmates reportedly remained behind.

The Ministry of Defence had confirmed that all members of the Boko Haram terrorist group kept at the center escaped.

Naija News reported that the heavily armed gunmen invaded the federal facility around 10.30 pm and successfully operated for about one hour unhindered.

Security sources have revealed to Vanguard that soldiers deployed to Kuje vicinity and the Correctional Center’s environment, who had mastered the terrain and acclimatized, were moved out before the attack.

It was, however, gathered that the period the soldiers were supposed to stay in that deployment had elapsed, and they were due for rotation.

Security sources revealed that the terrorists were able to beat checkpoints mounted by security agencies through the use of motorcycles.

One source told the publication that when the terrorists wanted to commence the operation, they opened volleys of bullets sporadically, which made many residents take to their heels, thus clearing the way for their operation.

Meanwhile, a top official of the Nigeria Correctional Service has debunked the report that suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, and some high-profile inmates escaped Kuje Prison.

The official claimed that terrorists who bombed Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday night attempted to gain access to Kyari’s cell but were unsuccessful.