About nine months after the attack on Kuje Correctional Centre by terrorists leading to the escape of many inmates including Boko Haram members, an escapee has been arrested in Nasarawa State.
The escapee, Salisu Buhari was arrested by the operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command in Nassarawa local government area of the state through a sting operation.
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The state police command through its public relations officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel said that Buhari was arrested alongside others for motorcycle theft.
DSP Nansel said that the suspect confessed that he was among the inmates who escaped from Kuje Correctional Centre during the July 2022 attack on the facility.
The development brought to two the number of escaped inmates from Kuje Correctional Centre recaptured by the Nasarawa State Police Command.
Few days after the incident, an escapee, Hassan Hassan, a suspected Boko Haram member, was rearrested in Keffi local government area of the state by operatives of the command.
It could be recalled that authorities of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had said that 879 inmates escaped from the facility following the attack.
While some of the inmates were recaptured in states across the country, others returned to the facility on their own freewill. But significant numbers are still at large.
Checks revealed that Buhari was among the escapees declared wanted by the Nigerian Correctional Service during the incident.
A profile of the inmates advertised alongside others by the Service gave his identity number as 0693/19.
The information also indicated that Buhari was born on January 1, 1999 and hailed from Nasarawa State.
The statement by DSP Nansel detailing his arrest reads: “On 6/4/2023 at about 2200hrs, Police operatives attached to Nasarawa Division in a sting operation arrested the duo of Zubairu Ali 27yrs and Salisu Buhari 24yrs for Motorcycle theft in Nasarawa LGA of Nasarawa State.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects are responsible for most motorcycle snatching and theft in Nasarawa LGA and its environs.
“Upon interrogation, Salisu Buhari confessed to having escaped from Kuje Prison when the facility was attacked last year, linked up with his crony, and went into a criminal venture.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Maiyaki Baba , has ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Lafia, for exhaustive investigation.”