Over 100 Inmates Escape Nigerian Prison Amidst Torrential Downpours

Over 100 inmates escaped a Nigerian prison after heavy rains damaged the facility near Abuja. Security forces have recaptured 10 escapees, and search operations continue. The prison, overcrowded and built during the colonial era, faces infrastructure issues that have led to past escapes. Authorities are working to rebuild and modernize aging prison facilities.

More than 100 inmates have escaped from a prison in Nigeria near the capital city of Abuja after overnight heavy rains destroyed parts of the facility, a prison official said Thursday, as security agencies searched for the fleeing prisoners.

The downpour, which lasted for several hours on Wednesday night, destroyed the perimeter fence of the medium-security prison in the neighbouring town of Suleja, in Niger state, "giving way to the escape of a total of 118 inmates from the facility," according to Adamu Duza, a prisons spokesman.

The prison service and other agencies have managed to recapture 10 of the escaped inmates while the search is on to find the rest, Duza said.

There are fears that they could find their way into the vast forests that connect Suleja town and neighbouring states, some of which are known hideouts for criminal gangs.

In addition to being overcrowded with 70% of the inmates still awaiting trial, most prisons in Nigeria are old, having been built during the colonial era before the West African nation's independence from Britain in 1960.

The structures are rarely renovated, which has made it easier for inmates to escape during past jailbreaks. Thousands of inmates have escaped from prisons during such jailbreaks, including Abuja where nearly 900 inmates broke free in 2022.

The authorities are making efforts to rebuild the structures and modernise the ageing facilities, Duza said.

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