Suspected terrorists on Sunday night attacked the Koto-Karffi Federal Medium Security Prisons in Kogi State.

In the attack that started at 10pm, the gunmen broke through the prison walls to set free all 145 inmates, vandalised the record office and threw the prison doors ajar.

Twelve of the prisoners were later returned while one died from bullet injuries.

This is the second time in two years that the Koto-Karfi prison was breached to free inmates. In 2012, 119 awaiting trial inmates were also freed by the attackers and many never returned.

According to an eye witness, the insurgents invaded the prison in a commando-style raid and operated for more than three hours unchallenged. He said the security operatives came when the damage had been done.

The comptroller-general Alhaji Aminu Sule, who spoke when the Kogi State governor Captain Idris Wada visited the scene, said the attackers forcefully released 144 prisoners.

Sule revealed that 26 of the prisoners were convicted of various crimes while 119 were awaiting trial for robbery, culpable homicide and others.

He pleaded with the governor to prevail on the Judiciary to wake up to its duties by trying awaiting trial inmates effectively.

He said some of the inmates have no business being in the prison. The prison, which stank and looked very unconducive for humans to live in, drew the ire of Governor Wada who decried the level of inhuman condition and promised to provide bedding.

He noted that the prison yard should be conducive to serve as a reformatory home for inmates, and not for breeding criminals, just as he noted that it was not good for the inmates to sleep on the bare floor in the prison he described as the first in northern Nigeria.

He also appealed to the minister of Interior Abba Moro to expedite action on the new Koto-Karfi prison project so that the old building, which was established in 1934, could become a relic or monument for tourism.

Wada declared that he would continue to collaborate with prison service and the federal government to ensure the new prison was completed soon.

He promised to invoke his power on prerogative of mercy to help some of the inmates languishing in jail without trial.

Wada also promised to prevail on the chief judge to do the same.

If FG Fails To Act, Boko Haram Will Capture North East – Borno Dep Gov

The governments of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states have raised the alarm over the bleak future facing their states in the wake of the rising annexation of more towns and villages by Boko Haram insurgents.

They have warned that unless the federal government stepped up counter measures, the entire North East Zone would soon fall under the control of Boko Haram.

Borno State Deputy governor Zanna Umar Mustapha, who raised the alarm in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, said with the effrontery of the insurgents who seem to be capturing territories with ease, very soon the three northeastern states would be completely occupied territory.

“If the federal government will not add extra effort, in the next three months, the three North East states will not be in existence,” he said. “The federal government has tried its best, but their best is not enough because rather than going after the insurgents, it is the insurgents that are going after us. It is a big crime that the criminals are better equipped and they are just few kilometres from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states’ capitals.”

The deputy governor, who was in Adamawa to see thousands of Borno residents who had been forced to leave their state following Boko Haram attacks, noted that the continued occupation of more towns by the insurgents had vindicated the statement earlier made by his boss, the state governor, that the insurgents were in possession of superior weapons, a statement many, including the presidency, flayed.

He stated that, already, 13 local governments in Borno, four in Adamawa and others in Yobe were under the control of Boko Haram insurgents, and that going by intelligence reports, if federal government did not step up counter measures, the fall of the three states was only a matter of weeks.

Mustapha also expressed doubt over the purported ceasefire agreement said to have been entered between the federal government and the insurgents.

“We are yet to believe that there is ceasefire because the first day after the said announcement was made, over 30 people were killed in Borno State, and they have continues with their rampage in Adamawa, Gombe and many other places.”

He urged the federal government to seek international intervention in order to put a final stop to the raging incursion of the insurgents,

“otherwise, in the next few months the three states may not exist.” Mustapha accused the insurgents of committing war crimes, saying they deploy anti-aircraft missiles in killing innocent people against international conventions.

Potiskum blast: 29 killed, 80 injured

At least 29 persons were yesterday confirmed dead and 80 others seriously injured after a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber targeted a religious procession of the Shia Islamic brotherhood in Potiskum town of Yobe State, officials and witnesses have said.

LEADERSHIP had officially been informed by hospital sources in Potiskum that 22 persons were instantly killed in the blast, while five others died as a result of bullet injuries sustained during the shooting that followed the blast.

A medical staff member of Potiskum General Hospital, who spoke to LEADERSHIP but wishes not to be named, said two other injured persons later died at about 6pm yesterday.

According to the source, “In all, we have 29 persons dead, comprising of 16 children and 11 adults, of which 24 of them were male and three female.

“Immediately after the blast,we were able to evacuate 22 persons that were killed by the bomb, while five others died of gunshots, but we have over 80 persons that sustained various degrees of injures either as a result of the blast or gunshots.”

A witness told LEADERSHIP that the bomber had approached a gathering of the Shia Muslim Brotherhood near one Fadiya Islamic School when they were about to embark on the annual procession to mark the Islamic Ashura Day and pretended to be part of the assembly, but suddenly detonated the explosive vest that he wore.

A member of the Shia group told journalists that he lost three of his sisters in the blast.

Yobe State police commissioner, Mr Danladi Markus, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said only four persons died.

A survivor, who narrowly escaped the blast, said apart from the 22 persons killed, most of the persons that either died or got injured were those hit by bullets coming from the soldiers who responded by firing sporadically, a claim that has not been verified by the authorities.

Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Abullahi Bego, described the attack as “heinous, barbaric and unwarranted.”

Gaidam said it was sad that such an attack was coming at a time the state was celebrating the return of what seemed a sustained peace and promised to foot the bills of all those affected by the bombing.

He also sympathized with the families that lost their loved ones to the blast.

Eyewitness account

Confirming the incident, leader of the Shi’ite group in the state, Mustapha Lawan Nasidi told Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that security operatives opened fire immediately after the explosion, but it was not clear who they fired at or if they hit anyone.

The attacker had joined the line of Shi’ites before setting off his device as they marched through Tsohuwar Kasuwa area of Potiskum town.

The worshippers had gathered outside a seminary in the city, after visiting the palace of the emir, witness told the news agency

A resident of the town said many followers of the sect, especially women and children, died in the explosion.

“I heard a very heavy explosion as if it happened in my room. It took place just 200 metres from my house,” he said.

Also confirming the incident, the state Police Commissioner, Markus Danladi, said the bomber took advantage of the procession to detonate the bomb.

“Yes, a suicide bomber was among the Shi’ite group and detonated his explosive device, killing members of the group,” he said.

Shi’ites worldwide yearly mark the 10th day of the Muslim new year as the festival of Ashura, an event that defines Shi’ism and its rift with Sunni Islam.

The festival is used to commemorate the slaying of Al-Hussein the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) at the battle of Karbala in 680. AD.

Potiskum Bombings: Tuggar Urges Politicians To Stop Blame Game

An All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Bauchi State, Yusuf MaitamaTuggar has condemned yesterday’s bomb blast that killed over 22 in Potiskum, Yobe State, when Shiite Muslims in the area were celebrating the Day of Ashura.

In a statement he issued yesterday, Tuggar vowed to stop at nothing in working with patriotic citizens to stop further acts of such inhumanity of man to man.

He also urged politicians to be statesmanlike in their approach towards the incidence of terrorism rather that trade blames.

The statement made available to LEADERSHIP noted: “I join other well-meaning Nigerians in expressing my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic events. I also pray for the souls of the departed and commiserate with those who sustained injuries while wishing them a speedy recovery.

“I condemn the senseless carnage and will continue to work with other concerned patriotic citizens towards bringing an end to the existential threat to our nation. This is a time for statesmen to demonstrate statecraft and not politicians to play the blame game.”

Boko Haram: Atiku begs international community for help

A former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called on the international community to assist Nigeria in combatting the scourge of insurgency in the northeastern part of the country.

Addressing a press conference in Yola yesterday, the former number two man also lamented the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) arising from the activities of Boko Haram.

In the statement, a copy of which was made available to LEADERSHIP electronically from his media office, Atiku said there was the need for countries with the necessary knowhow to help bring the scourge to an end, noting that the toll on the economy of the region had become enormous.

He decried the impact of the insurgency and said he was forced to speak out because as thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their homes and farms which had been destroyed.

“They (the affected) do not know where to go or how to restart their lives. That is the degree to which we have come in this country. I say this with reluctance and with shame. The situation in which we find ourselves today is grave,” he lamented.

“As somebody who hails from Adamawa State, you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at the fate of my people. For whatever reason, our defence forces are unable to cope and unable to defend. My sympathies go out to the soldiers who find themselves in a situation not of their making.”