In the early hours of Easter Monday, Imo State, Owerri Correctional Center was attacked by unknown, suspected hoodlums with sophisticated heavy ammunition, and freed up to a thousand inmates.

Owerri Prison Break | How it happened

Owerri Prison break, 2021, kicked off at about 1 am and 3 am. The attackers, who seem to be professional in their work, drove in their dangerous security vehicles, and they were mistaken to be the Army or Police until they started launching and shooting randomly as they confidently went straight to the prison for their mission to free hundreds of inmates from the prison.

The funny thing is that the gunmen chanted their anthem (songs) for up to 30 minutes before they commenced with their attack, and the policemen and other force men seem to be busy with their sleep instead of keeping a watch. Just, as usual, the Imo State Police Command has reported that they are on top of the situation as Machinep gathered.

At the moment, the exact number of the freed inmates is yet uncertain but seems to range from 100 and above because Amnesty International recorded that 2,156 inmates were in the Owerri Correctional Center over the weekend. Also, up to 50 vehicles were set ablaze.

The attack came as a confrontation intensified between the Nigerian Security forces and adherents of the separatist IPOB movement across the Eastern Part of Nigeria.

The Level of Destruction

The level of destruction and casualty figures were not immediately available, but pictures shared on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, showed heavy smokes billowing from what posters said were the scenes of the attack that lasted for more than two hours as you can see in the video below.

About the Prison’s Security

There are security officers, army, policemen, etc., whose duty is to protect the prison and inmates from attackers. But, sadly, the attackers arrived with a stronger force, heavy and sophisticated ammunitions, such that the security was belittled.

Meanwhile, some residents of Owerri captured and filmed the scene from various angles and shared it across social media for help. In reaction to this, Imo Police spokesman, Godson Orlando told Machinep he was unaware of the attack with this statement:

I will have to wait until later today to find out what happened.

GODSON ORLANDO

What’s likely to happen next?

Following this prison break, hundreds of prison inmates have been freed, and there will be a massive search to apprehend most of them. So, the residents, especially the male youths, are advised to go about with their Identity Cards so as to identify themselves at any given time. Also, night movements should be restricted to be on a safer side, at least for this moment.

The Police are likely to commence the hunt, and just, as usual, they will probably misplace people’s identity altogether, and arrest people who were not among the freed inmates.

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