Villagers Set Fleeing Prisoner Ablaze In Southeast Nigeria
Less than 72 hours after some inmates escaped from a correctional facility in Owerri, Imo State, a fleeing inmate has been set ablaze for threatening family members who testified against him.
A yet to be identified fleeing Prisoner who returned home from the Owerri Correctional Centre has been set ablaze by angry residents of Umuawom village, Ihodimeze community in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, Southeast Nigeria on Wednesday, April 7.
According to The Nations report, the fleeing prisoner was said to hail from the nearby Ogwa community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state but grew up in Umuawom village, which is his maternal home.
It was disclosed that the fleeing inmate was allegedly involved in kidnapping a family in Umuawom over a year ago but was eventually apprehended and has been in custody.
The prisoner, however, on his escape from the Correctional Centre decided to visit one of the families in Uwuawon which had testified against him and threatened to deal with them, while attempting to carry out his threat with a gun by attacking a family member.
He was overpowered by the villagers who set him ablaze.
Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State on Wednesday during the program politics today on Channels Television disclosed that 85 of the 1,844 inmates who escaped from the Owerri Custodial Centre have voluntarily returned to the facility.
He also revealed that some of the fleeing prisoners had called in through their lawyers to be reassured that they would not be charged again before they returned.
HumAngle had earlier reported that the Owerri Custodial Centre in Imo State and the State Police Command Headquarters were invaded by separatist fighters of the IPOB between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Monday, April 5, freeing over 1,000 prisoners in the process.
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