An eyewitness has disclosed that the terrorists who invaded Kuje prison on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, deployed rocket launchers during the midnight operation.
A rocket launcher is a type of firearm that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile at a target. It is usually used by soldiers in conventional warfare.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, has since claimed responsibility for the Kuje prison invasion.
The eyewitness who pleaded that his name be left out of this story, and who resides in AA1 extension, a street behind the prison facility, told our Reporter that the terrorists rode on motorbikes and cars in their hundreds.
“Our house is just behind the prison, and the terrorists passed through our street to the prison. They attacked the prison with bombs and gunshots, they also fired gunshots sporadically on the streets.
“Everybody on the street had to lay down on the floor because of the gunshots. They were shooting at random. There were three bomb blasts inside the prison.
“The attackers were terrorists, they have been planning this attack for a long time.
“They were in large numbers. Some of them on bikes, others in cars. We heard it all clearly. There were bombs thrown into the prison. In fact the terrorists even used rocket launchers and aimed bullets into the prison facility with the intent to kill,” he said.
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has since confirmed that there was an attack on the Custodial Centre in the Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Umar Abubakar in the early hours of Wednesday, the NCS said the armed squad of the service in collaboration with other security agencies, responded to the attack.
He however said calm has been restored to the area.
More than 900 terrorists and hardened inmates from the detention facility are currently on the run.
According to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, “The Boko Haram terrorists who invaded Kuje Prison last night had so much time on their hands, they delivered a 15-minute Quranic lecture before setting their members free. And they handed them transport fares!”
Prison breaks have become commonplace in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, in recent times.