Attempts by armed hoodlums to free 18 prisoners stalled in Sokoto

A move by armed persons to free 18 prisoners has been foiled in Sokoto State.

This was disclosed in a statement by Bello Farouk, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Prisons Service in Sokoto.



Mr. Farouk said the ‘miscreants’ attacked a vehicle conveying the prisoners to court.

Read his full statement below: “An attack on a prisons court duty vehicle conveying 18 awaiting trial persons from Sokoto prison to court by some miscreants has been foiled by officers of the prisons armed squad and the police.

“The hoodlums, armed with machetes and other dangerous weapons, attempted to set free the inmates being taken to court along Sultan Abubakar Road, Sokoto, at about 10 a.m. This was, however, repelled as officials of the Nigerian Police Force swiftly responded to assist the Nigerian Prisons armed squad personnel to resist the attack thus preventing what would have been resulted in a major security breach in Sokoto State.

“Meanwhile, the prisoners have been successfully escorted back to safe custody in the prison yard and security beefed up in and around the facility.

“The controller of prisons, Sokoto State command, Haliru Nadaba, while appreciating the continuous support from sister security organisations wishes to assured the public of adequate safety and human custody of all prisoners in the command in line with the mandate of the Nigerian Prisons Service.”