How Abba Kyari, other VIP inmates survived Kuje prison attack

Fresh facts have emerged on how suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari, as well as former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and his Taraba State counterpart, Jolly Nyame, and other inmates kept in the VIP wing of the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja escaped death when terrorists attacked the facility.

Pulse reports that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for the Tuesday night attack that saw over 800 inmates, including 65 detained Boko Haram fighters escaped.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) FCT Command said over 600 of the prison escapees have been recaptured while the government has also released pictures of the fleeing Boko Haram suspects and declared them wanted.

Recall that the former commander of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and four members of his team were being held in the Kuje prison facility pending the determination of their ongoing drug related offences trial slammed against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Other VIPs that were also caught up in the attack included Dariye, Nyame, a former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, and a former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee on Petroleum Subsidy, Farouk Lawan, all of whom are serving jail terms at the facility.

According to a report by Daily Trust, sources, which include senior officer of the correctional service and one of the VIP inmates, narrated how the terrorists targeted the VIP wing of the facility after they had successfully freed their members.

“The gunmen knew what they came for and where to locate their members. They surely understood every part of the prison and where their members were kept,” one of the sources told the paper.

The prison source added that one of the terrorists started screaming the name of Abba Kyari and his men after releasing their members.

The source said the criminals headed towards the isolated area, saying in Hausa; “Abba Kyari you are dead, we will kill you now,” Daily Trust reported.

Another source said the terrorists pelted the VIP section with bullets but couldn't gain access before they were deterred by the sound of gunshots from outside the prison facility.

“We took cover under tables as the terrorists fired several rounds of ammunition,” one of the VIP inmates said.

The source said what saved the day was the shootings from military men from outside the building.