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Prison Break: Bayelsa State yet to get a break, as another attempt is made

Another jailbreak attempt has been foiled by the Bayelsa Police Command barely three weeks after 10 suspects reportedly escaped from a police detention in Yenegoa.

Bayelsa Police Commissioner, Asuquo Amba, confirmed the incident saying the attempt was made in broad daylight when the suspects were taking their bath.

Amba said the suspects in the cell overpowered the officer who opened the burglary proof for them but fortunately the outer gate was locked.

“It was a tense situation but the prompt alertness of other policemen around the area saved the situation, none of the suspects escaped but the fact of the matter is that we do not have proper detention facilities.

“It is a makeshift arrangement, an office with burglary proof, we were lucky to avert this one but that does not mean that it will not happen again, the suspects can still plan another one, we desperately need to build proper detention facilities to hold suspects.

“The makeshift facilities we have are overstretched and we have written to the state government as well as engaged the judiciary to quicken the dispensation of justice because it is the slow pace of prosecution that makes our facilities overcrowded.

“The dearth of facilities here is hampering our efforts at policing the state,” Amba said.

Five of the suspects, who escaped detention from the Special Anti-robbery Squad of the Bayelsa State Police Command, have been re-arrested following a manhunt by the Police.

Also, six inmates of Okaka Prisons in Yenagoa were apprehended for attempting to escape from the prison.

The mastermind of the attempted prison break, Mr. Victor Tekekuma, who is awaiting trial for murder and kidnapping, had reportedly blown the prison cell with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The IED was allegedly brought to Tekekuma by one John Koko, said to be his brother-in-law, from Sangana in Brass area of Bayelsa.

‘’Investigation into the dastardly act revealed that the mastermind of the attempted escape got IED through one of his visitors. The IED was concealed in a ‘blue band margarine’ butter pack. They put the device inside cellophane and covered it with margarine to make it look as if it was butter.’’

The Okaka Medium Prison facility was built to accommodate 300 prisoners but is currently housing nearly 500 prisoners with 488 males and eight females.

On the possibility of cases of congestion being the cause of the attempted jailbreak, the Controller noted that though the issue of congestion in the prison‎ was caused by the slow pace of justice dispensation in the state, “we are only custodians, we don’t reject prisoners as long as they have proper documentation. And it is not in our place to release prisoners or those on awaiting trial list.”

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