The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has been put on alert following the escape of some 1,800 prisoners from the Oweri Custodial Centre at Imo state in Nigeria.

A wireless message issued by the top hierarchy of the GIS has directed its officials to be on high alert to avert the entry of the prisoners into Ghana.

“I am directed to bring the incident to the attention of the controls. You are to inform officers and men under your command to take note and be on high security alert to prevent the entry of these criminal escapees from entering the country,” the message said.

Background

More than 1,800 inmates on Monday 5 April, 2021 escaped after a heavily armed gang attacked a prison in southern Nigeria using explosives, correctional authorities said. It is one of the West African country’s largest prison breaks.

The attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison in Imo state, engaging guards in a gun battle and freeing inmates, the national corrections authority said in a statement.

“I can confirm that the Imo State command of the Nigerian Correctional Service was attacked by unknown gunmen in Owerri,” Imo state corrections service spokesman James Madugba told AFP, adding that the number of escaped inmates was yet to be confirmed.

“The situation is under control,” he said.  The assailants arrived in pickup trucks and buses before storming the facility, the correction authority said.

No group claimed responsibility for the assault, though President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an “act of terrorism” carried out by anarchists and urged security forces to capture the assailants and the escaped detainees.

Source: Asaaseradio.com