Update: Gunmen attack Koton-Karfe Prison, free inmates

  *One dead, 2 injured  Unspecified number of gunmen launched an attack on the Koton-Karfe Federal Prison late Sunday night freeing the inmates and leaving one person dead and two injured, residents told Daily Trust.  Koton-Karfe is a fishing community near the River Niger in Kogi state. The town is located on the Lokoja-Abuja road, […]

 

*One dead, 2 injured

 Unspecified number of gunmen launched an attack on the Koton-Karfe Federal Prison late Sunday night freeing the inmates and leaving one person dead and two injured, residents told Daily Trust. 

Koton-Karfe is a fishing community near the River Niger in Kogi state. The town is located on the Lokoja-Abuja road, close to the River Niger, some 15 minutes’ drive to Lokoja and over 100 kilometers from Abuja.  

Panic struck residents had called Daily Trust at about 10 pm while the sustained gun fires lasted for hours on Sunday. 

A detachment of armed soldiers arrived the town hours later, Daily Trust gathered but the attackers had concluded their mission and fled.

Police authorities were yet to respond to Daily Trust inquiries.

A terrified resident of the town told Daily Trust on telephone that there was power outage and many people had put on their generator sets but when the gun fire started, the town went silent as residents scampered to safety in the nearby caves while others were holed up in their homes.

Some residents who attempted to come out find out what was amiss were said to have been shot. “The attackers appeared to be well coordinated because they were all over the town sending people back into their houses who attempted to come out,” a resident said.

The tranquility of the town was broken about 10pm with heavy gun shots which continued for more than two hours before army came. The rampaging gunmen had left with unspecified numbers of the prison inmates after freeing others, Daily Trust learnt.

In 2012, a similar jail break occurred at the same prison suspected to have been launched by the Boko Haram insurgents but the federal government rejected claims that it was done by the insurgents. 

Minister of Interior Abba Moro who had visited the prison after the attack said it was hoodlums that invaded the prison not Boko Haram. 

It could not be confirmed who was responsible for the latest attack at the time of filing this report. Insurgents who have largely concentrated in the north east of the country have upped their attacks in recent days with a bombing of a busy motor park in Gombe town, capital of Gombe state last Friday and seizing of Mubi in Adamawa last week too. 

Police were not available for comment at the time of filing this report.

Details coming…