Over 1,200 out of 1,844 inmates that escaped from the Owerri Correctional Service, following the April attack by members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are still at large, the Public Relations Officer of the centre, Goodluck Uboegbulam, has said.
He said only 600 of the inmates have either voluntarily returned or rearrested by security operatives.
“After the attack, we have undertaken several measures, such as going through different media and exploring possible avenues aimed at getting results,” he said.
“In fact, we have gone as far as writing to the churches, community and village heads, letting them know the dangers in allowing the fleeing inmates to hide within our communities. And with this, what it has yielded so far is the voluntary return of some of these fleeing inmates.”
“But one irony is that most of the families and parents of these fleeing inmates don’t understand the implications of what we are saying.
“Some of them say ‘Oh! thank God, finally our sons have been set free’ but the price of that freedom is such that, that individual cannot work anywhere, cannot do any job, cannot open a shop anywhere because he is a fugitive.
“So, that is why we are still using every available medium to appeal to public spirited individuals, groups, churches and village heads to help us out. This is because all these fleeing inmates, they all hail from our communities.
“We or the police cannot do it all alone. We need support and cooperation from the people. We are appealing to the public to avail us of every information that will lead to re-arresting them.”
