Mayhem in Owerri as gunmen free 1,844 inmates
Anarchy broke out yesterday in Owerri, Imo state as thousands of prison inmates from Owerri Correctional Centre were freed, after heavily armed hoodlums attacked the facility.
An eye witness said the operation started at about 1am and ended at 3am. “These men are heavily sophisticated. They came in their security vehicles and we thought they were army and police. They were shooting everywhere and went straight to the prison”, the source said.
Another source said, “some days back, we heard of warnings from the Eastern security Network, ESN, that their members would be freed from that prison or it would be done by force. They even gave them 14 days to do that. What you are seeing can be a result of not doing that. However, you can see that the freed inmates are not only members of ESN, non-members also benefitted from it”.
A security officer who didn’t want his name in print said the attackers used dynamite and sophisticated guns during the attacks.
“Heavy gunshots and explosions could be heard in the area when they arrived with sophisticated weapons, including dynamite and guns. While some of the inmates in the correctional facility refused to go, others have voluntarily returned”, the security officer said.
