Adeleke pledges to work with FG to track escaped inmates

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Osun State Government has pledged full cooperation with the Federal Government to uncover the cause of the recent jailbreak at the Ilesa Correctional Centre, which led to the escape of seven inmates awaiting trial.

Governor Ademola Adeleke made the pledge while leading a government delegation, including service chiefs from the Nigeria Police, DSS, Immigration, NSCDC, NDLEA, and others, to the correctional facility for an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.

Adeleke, represented by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, described the incident as unfortunate and declared his administration’s readiness to collaborate with security agencies to unravel the circumstances surrounding the jailbreak and ensure the re-arrest of the escapees and their masterminds, wherever they may be.

He commended the Federal Government for immediately launching a comprehensive investigation into the jailbreak.

“I want to assure you that the Osun State Government under my leadership will do everything, both morally and officially, to prevent such a jailbreak from happening again. All necessary measures, including better illumination of the correctional centre using a multi-million naira solar power system and improving the poor perimeter fencing, will be considered and addressed,” Adeleke said.

He added that both the Federal and State Governments would work together to upgrade the current condition of the facility and prevent future occurrences.

Earlier, the Controller of the Ilesa Correctional Centre, Mr. C.C. Oluwadele, thanked the Governor and his team for the solidarity visit and reaffirmed that no stone would be left unturned in the effort to re-arrest the seven escapees.

He also informed the delegation that a search party had already been deployed and that the biometric data of the escapees had been released to the public.