Iskilu Wakili
By Jon Egie with agency report
Hired Fulani mercenaries have been fingered as being responsible for Friday night’s attack on Abolongo correctional facility, Oyo town in Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria.
It was reported that prisoners have escaped from the Abolongo facility in Oyo town after some gunmen attacked the correctional centre and freed many inmates.
The gunmen arrived in their numbers around 11pm and started shooting sporadically. They then released inmates who fled to their various destinations.
It is understood that there was a bit of panic around the prison vicinity, as residents thought it was a robbery attempt.
The Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), Oyo state Command, on Saturday morning confirmed the attack on the prison, stating that it is assessing the situation.
Now, fresh information coming in says the attack was planned and carried out by invading bandits.
According to Sahara Reporters, the gunmen carried out the attack specifically to free Iskilu Wakili, a prominent Fulani man accused of being among those behind most kidnappings and mindless killings in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State. Wakili, who has sight problem, was arrested by the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in March. He was immediately handed over to the Police, and has since been in custody.
Information has it that gunmen struck on Wednesday on Oyo-Ogbomosho Road. And these invaders who attacked Abolongo prison are believed to be same terrorists who struck three days ago on Oyo-Ogbomosho road.
How it happened
Sunday Sun reports that three persons, comprising a Soldier, an inmate and Amotekun Corps member lost their lives, while many others, including an Amotekun Corps member, were critically injured when gunmen invaded the Medium Security Custodial Centre of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Abolongo, Oyo town in Oyo State around 10pm on Friday.
The security personnel that died or injured, as gathered, were attached to the Abolongo Correctional Centre.
The soldier was attached to Operation Burst.
A pick-up van belonging to Operation Burst, which is a joint security network of Oyo State, was sighted at Abolongo riddled with bullets just as bloodstain was seen in the vehicle.
But the inmate that lost his life during the commotion reportedly tried scaling the fence of the centre, but could not make it as he landed on the ground on the other side.
The security personnel attached to the facility reportedly engaged the gunmen in a fierce duel with a view to repelling them for about 20 minutes, but the gunmen were said to have overpowered them and gained entry into the yard after using dynamite to blow open the wall.
The attackers, as gathered, used grenades and other explosives to gain access into the awaiting trial section of the facility before setting free many of the awaiting trial inmates.
But the other sections of the facilities were said to have been left untouched.
Sunday Sun reliably gathered that a total of 837 inmates were freed by the gunmen that came in large numbers on motorcycles.
But as at the time of filing this report, the authorities of the NCS disclosed that a total of 262 escapees had been recaptured, while 575 of them are still at large.
But some of the escaped inmates reportedly returned to the centre by themselves.
One of them was said to have come back with bread and beans, saying: “I know that with what happened, there will not be good for us for some days.
“This is why I went out to get food so that I will not starve.”
When this reporter visited the attacked facility on Saturday, it was observed that observatory towers, residence of the head of custodial centre, and the iron door at the entrance of the main building of the centre were severely damaged with bullets and explosives.
But journalists were not allowed to enter the main custodial centre, where the inmates are being kept in different cells, to assess the extent of damage done by the gunmen.
The Controller of Corrections, NCS, Oyo State Command, Noel Ailewon, who initially spoke through the command’s spokesperson, Olanrewaju Anjorin, said journalists were not allowed entry into the facility because the place was being treated as a crime scene.
Ailewon added that the Oyo Custodial Centre was established in 2007 with a capacity of 160 inmates, but at the time of the attack, the facility had a total population of 907 inmates, out of which awaiting trial persons were 837, representing 92 per cent, while 64 are convicts.
Two among the high profile inmates remanded at Abolongo Custodial Centre are the alleged territorial warlord and kidnapping kingpin of Ibarapa area of the state, Iskilu Wakili, and the suspected serial killer that terrorised many communities in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state between May and August 2020, Sunday Sodipe.
Also said to be in the prison was the boss of Crime Alert, Olaniyan Amos, who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
But the authorities of the NCS in the state said they would not mention names of the inmates, adding that high profile inmates “are still in the cells.”
Addressing journalists thereafter, Ailewon explained that the gunmen that attacked the facility stormed the place around 10pm on October 22, 2021 came in large numbers and attacked the centre with sophisticated weapons.
Ailewon stated that he was informed about the incident around 10:05pm by the head of the custodial centre, adding that there were varying degrees of injury, but could only confirm the death of the inmate that attempted to escape.
He added that following the Controller General of Corrections Haliru Nababa’s directives, he has commenced the process of search and recapture, after visiting the scene of the incident.
He assured that no effort would be spared to recapture the fleeing inmates, even as he solicited credible intelligence to aid security agencies in tracking down the escapees.
Shortly after the interview with Ailewon, recaptured inmates were brought into the facility in one mini-black Maria and a big black Maria as well.
The Director General of Operation Burst, Colonel James Oladipo (retd), said the injured soldier was not dead as at 1:30pm on Saturday, saying, however, that he was critically injured and was not sure if he could survive the injury.
An impeccable source, who did not want his name in print, however, confirmed the soldier’s death at 4pm to Sunday Sun.
But a group of soldiers that sat under a tree at the premises of the facility told journalists that one of them was killed by the gunmen.
The Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (retd), told journalists on phone that one Amotekun Corps member died during the gun duel, while another sustained critical injury.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said he has been briefed on the attack, disclosing that he is monitoring the situation.
A statement issued by his Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, stated that Aregbesola has assured members of the public to go about their normal businesses as the situation is under control, adding that the Minister has also asked members of the public to report any suspicious movement or any sign of the escaped inmates and the gunmen in and around the vicinity to the nearest security post around them.
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