[1][2] Prison breaks in Nigeria are also often the result of attacks on the Nigerian Correctional Service facilities by terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, or armed robbers, leading to the release of inmates.
[4] Prison breaks in Nigeria have been attributed to systemic challenges such as corruption,[5] underfunding of correctional facilities, and inadequate infrastructure.
Many prisons lack essential security features such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance, motion detectors, high perimeter walls with barbed wire, and electrified fences.
[6][7] Other factors contributing to prison breaks include overcrowding in correctional facilities, inadequate training of personnel, and delayed trials leading to frustration among awaiting-trial inmates.
In many cases, prison breaks are linked to larger security concerns within Nigeria, including terrorism and organized crime.
Instances such as the Kuje prison attack in 2022 and other notable breaches illustrate the persistent threat posed to correctional facilities and the implications for public safety.
[25] On 30 June 2013, it was reported that the Olokuta Medium Security Prison in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, Nigeria were attacked by 50 unknown gunmen suspected to be Armed robbers.
[39] On 24 June 2016, there was a jailbreak at the Kuje Medium Security in the Federal Capital Territory where two high profile inmates in persons of Solomon Amodu and Maxwell Ajukwu both of them awaiting trial for homicide escaped from custody by scaling through the fence.
The militants used explosives to access the administrative block and released 1,844 inmates and also burnt down other police facilities within the vicinity of the prison.