Kuje: Terrorists overwhelmed security with superior weapons, says minister

The Federal Government, on Friday, said the attack and subsequent jailbreak of the Kuje correctional facility in Abuja was only possible because the terrorists were wielding superior weapons.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the National Security Council meeting presided over by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Digyadi noted that although the security personnel on duty that night fought hard to repel the attack and killed some of the terrorists, they could not hold their ground indefinitely because of the superior weaponry of their assailants.

It was reported that terrorists, on Tuesday night, attacked the Kuje Correctional Centre, freeing over 600 inmates, including hardened Boko Haram elements.

When confronted with questions on how the attack scaled through, he said: “You see, these kinds of things, they happen and I want to assure you all those who are supposed to play a role in ensuring that the attack is neutralised did the best that they could to neutralise it.

“I think what helped them was the number of people they came with and the superior weapons they came with.

“And because nobody anticipated it, the few people could not withstand the number that they came with. I think that’s what happened.”

He, however, noted that efforts were underway to recapture the fleeing inmates as investigations were ongoing.