Controversy surrounds Abba Kyari’s whereabouts after attack on Kuje prison

Controversy has surrounded the whereabouts of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, after bandits attacked Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, where he was kept.

According to news reports that gunmen attacked the Custodial Centre in the Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Tuesday, July 05, 2022, night.

During the attack which lasted hours, some inmates were said to have escaped.

The Kuje prison is famous for holding high-profile inmates and suspects, including former governors and ministers. According to officials, the facility houses over 900 inmates.

“We have not seen him today. He didn’t also come for Subhi (early morning) prayer as usual. But I don’t know what is happening,” a source in the prison told our correspondent.

Another official, who preferred to withhold identity, said that the whereabouts of Kyari remained unknown to him as of 09.30am.

“I am sure he is not missing and he didn’t escape. But I don’t know where exactly he is,” the official said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, said “Kyari is not missing”.

Abubakar also noted that Kyari has not been moved from the Kuje prison.

“He is still in our custody. Nothing happened to him. He has not been moved,” he told The newsmen on the telephone.

Abubakar in a statement in the early hours of Wednesday, July 06, 2022, said the armed squad of the service in collaboration with other security agencies responded to the attack.

the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Mr Shuaibu Belgore, also confirmed that about 600 inmates escaped from the Kuje Correctional Centre following Tuesday evening’s attack.

Belgore explained that over 300 of the inmates have been retrieved.

He suspected that the gunmen attacked the facility to rescue their terrorism co-conspirators.

The official added that one person died and three others were injured during the attack.