An inmate at the Benin Central Prison has allegedly escaped from the headquarters of the Edo State Prison Service on Reservation Road, in Benin, the state capital.
It was gathered that the inmate, in company with a prison guard, was being taken to the prison headquarters to work on Monday morning before he took to his heels.
Eyewitnesses said the fleeing inmate wore only shorts before he escaped, running through the popular Benin Moat at the back of the prison headquarters.
But some sources at the prison said the inmate did not escape through the main gate.
They added that the prison official, who had been mandated to guard the inmate, while he was working, had claimed to have gone to eat when the incident occurred.
It was also learnt that a search party had been organised to help arrest the fugitive.
Some officials of the prison service frantically combed the Benin moat and adjoining streets for the inmate.
Efforts to reach the State Comptroller of Benin Prisons, Effiom Etowa, for official comment, were unsuccessful.
A top official, who did not disclose his identity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, however, told our correspondent that the NPS had yet to receive an official report on the incident.
“The official that took him out has not reported any incidence to us. Until he does that, we will not be able to say anything,” the source said.
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