The Lagos Police Command has arrested a warden attached to the Kirikiri Custodial Centre, Lagos State, Kayode Fatombi, for allegedly aiding the escape of some prison inmates.
The prison inmates were earlier arrested by the police for alleged robbery and kidnapping. They were subsequently arraigned before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
Unfortunately two of the inmates escaped after the warden led them out on the pretext of taking them somewhere. After the police got information on the matter, they tracked the inmates and re-arrested them.
During interrogation, they reportedly confessed to having paid the warder N500,000 each.
The suspected warder is now at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, and is expected to be charged on Monday.
Kayode was attached to the Kirikiri custodial prison as a warder, and he took the inmates facing trial at the High Court for kidnapping and armed robbery out of the prison and allowed them to escape. He claimed that they ran away while he was leading them out. During the investigation, it was gathered that he purposely allowed them to escape, so he was arrested and kept at the SCID, Yaba. The officer had been dismissed and would be arraigned on Monday.
On the part of the warden, he was said to have told his bosses that he was taking the inmates back to prison after their court sitting at Ikeja when he was waylaid by a gang that freed two of the suspects.
The prison service arrested him for a disciplinary procedure. This was ongoing when the warder consulted with someone in the police force and engaged him to track the escapees. He provided the necessary information that led to their re-arrest.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident said the warder would be arraigned this week.
He also noted that the correctional service was part of the process of investigation.
Hundeyin said, “I can confirm that he is in our custody and will be arraigned this week. He was arrested for aiding the escape of some inmates, two of whom have been re-arrested.”
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Service, Lagos State Command, Rotimi Oladokun, said investigation was ongoing into the matter.
Culled from Punchng
