Security agencies foil prison break in Bayelsa State

Six inmates of Okaka Prisons in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, have been apprehended for attempting to escape from the prison.

It was gathered that the mastermind of the attempted jailbreak, Mr. Victor Tekekuma, blew the prison cell with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The bang of the explosion drew the attention of the security operatives comprising the army, police, State Security Services (SSS) and prison warders, who mobilised to the scene, leading to the arrest of six of the inmates who wanted to escape.

The incident, which took place around 9p.m. on Sunday, saw the suspects bombing one of the cells in the prison with an IED, but it took the prompt arrival of the combined security operatives to thwart their escape.

It was learnt that the security operatives rounded up the fleeing suspects and arrested six of them after they had passed through the hole created by the explosive device.

A prison source, who craved anonymity, said the mastermind of the attempted prison break, Mr. Victor Tekekuma, is an inmate awaiting trial for murder and kidnapping since 2013.

The source said Tekekuma allegedly used the IED to drill a hole by the toilet section, where the six arrested inmates took in order to escape from detention.

A security source said the IED was allegedly brought to Tekekuma by one John Koko, said to be his brother-in-law from Sangana in Brass area of Bayelsa.

‘’Investigation into the dastardly act revealed that the mastermind of the attempted escape got IED through one of his visitors. The IED was concealed in a ‘blue band margarine’ butter pack. They put the device inside a cellophane and covered it with margarine to make it look as if it was butter.’’

The Controller, Nigerian Prisons Service, Bayelsa State, Mr. Victor Chiabua, who confirmed the development, said the prompt response by the police, the NSCDC, the DSS and the military ‘’actually aborted what could have been a jailbreak.

‘’The response was immediate as prison armed squad with other security officers on duty advanced to the scene of explosion and the-about-to-flee inmates were arrested and kept in separate cells. They are six.”

The Okaka Medium Prison facility was built to accommodate 300 prisoners but are currently housing nearly 500 prisoners with 488 males and eight females.

On the possible cases of congestion as cause of the attempted jailbreak, the controller noted that though the issue of congestion in the prison‎ was caused by the slow pace of justice dispensation in the state, “we are only custodians, we don’t reject prisoners as long as they have proper documentation. And it is not in our place to release prisoners or those on awaiting trial list.”