July 06, (THEWILL) – The Kuje Medium Custodial Centre in Abuja, on Tuesday night, came under heavy bombardments by gunmen, throwing the entire area Council into confusion.
The first explosion, a high capacity bomb, reportedly went off around 10.25pm. It was followed by second and third blast and sporadic gunshots that left the residents scampering into safety.
The attack on the detention facility, came hours after the reported ambush on the advance convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, the attackers were said to have been repelled by security operatives at the premises
Few hours earlier, security report had alerted the prison officials of possible attacks of the medium prison.
A resident in the area, said some men were seen running through the school within the neighbourhood of the prison.
“There has been serious shooting from the prison area for over 30 minutes. A number of unknown men were seen running through the Government Secondary School premises from only God knows where.
“We don’t know who they are. There was a sound like collapsing zinc and before we knew it, some men were seen running through the back, down to the empty school land”, the resident, who didn’t want to be named, said.
A prison staff, who confirmed the incident, said the attackers had come from the back of the prison yard.
The FCT police authorities are yet to confirm the attack, and calls to the spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Services, Francis Enobore, were unanswered.
The custodian Centre was established in 1989, it has a minimum and maximum holding cells, where inmates are incarcerated.
The Facility is famous for holding high-profile offenders, including former governors and ministers.
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