More than a dozen inmates have been feared dead and several others injured following a foiled jail break on Thursday, August 18, 2016 at the Abakaliki Federal Prison, Ebonyi State.
Many of the injured inmates were said to have sustained gunshot wounds.
Unconfirmed sources said more than 14 persons were killed including one prison officers, adding that those injured and killed had been taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, FETHA, for medical attention.
Vanguard reports that the trouble started when prisoners, early morning of Thursday, revolted against the poor treatment, especially inadequate feeding that has been persistence in the prison for a long time.
Sources further revealed that the angry inmates started rioting inside the prison and used every object within their reach to attack prison officers and consequently injured many.
Also, that two of the prison officers wounded during the incident had been hospitalized.
The prison officers, it was learned, returned fire for fire which resulted in the killing of several inmates.
It was gathered that the inmates had over-powered the guards, and took the special intervention of a combined team of the Prison officers, Nigeria police and Army drafted to the scene, to quell what was already a jailbreak.
Gunshots were reportedly heard intermittently as Police and Soldiers try to recover a firearm allegedly taken from one of the prison officers by the inmates.
The rioting inmates had already succeeded in creating an opening on the wall before anti-riot policemen arrived and heavily tear gassed them into submission.
The prison is located beside the police headquarters leading to prompt intervention from the police.
Already, the commander of military cantonment and the commissioner of police had visited the area and are directing the operations to restore sanity in the prison.
