The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Newsflash Nigeria had reported on Tuesday that the facility in Abuja was under attack by gunmen and inmates were freed.
According to one of the sources, the terrorists invaded the facility around 9:05 pm and operated till 1:30 am on Wednesday.
He added that over 800 inmates including terrorists escaped during the attack by gunmen.
ISWAP in a video released on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the video, the terrorists showed how some of its members entered the Kuje prison.
The 38 seconds video showed that the terrorists shot indiscriminately before gaining access into the prison.
A check by Newsflash Nigeria showed that the Islamic State’s A’maq Agency first released the video with a caption in Arabic. The caption read, “Fighters of Islamic State attacked Kuje prison in Abuja yesterday and succeeded in releasing many prisoners.”
The video showed an elderly man and young men shouting while claiming responsibility for the attack with many fighters marching as vehicles and buildings were on fire.
The Nigerian Correctional Service said four inmates died and 879 escaped during the attack.
The Service Public Relations Officer, Mr Abubakar Umar, in a statement on Wednesday, said the attackers broke into the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, using explosive devices through the main entrance and the fence of the facility respectively.
He said that an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps attached to the Custodial Centre was killed, adding that three officials of the NCoS were seriously injured.
“A total of 879 inmates escaped from the facility during the unfortunate attack. As at the time of this report, 443 have been recaptured, 551 inmates are currently in custody, 443 inmates are still at large.
“Four inmates are dead and 16 inmates sustained various degrees of injuries and are being treated at the moment. However, efforts are ongoing to recapture all fleeing inmates, ” Umar said.
He also confirmed that Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and other VIPs held in the facility did not escape.
Watch the video credited by SaharaReporters:
VIDEO: ISWAP Claims Responsibility For Kuje Prison Attack, Releases Video pic.twitter.com/99i8KPFtdr
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) July 6, 2022
