BAYELSA : Jailbreak averted in SARS custody, three weeks after several inmates’ escaped

Barely three weeks after 10 suspects reportedly escaped from the cell of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, another attempt was averted on Friday.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba, confirmed the attempted cell break in a telephone interview.

Amba said that some inmates had overpowered the policeman guarding the cells, who opened the burglary proof for them.

He added that unknown to the inmates, the outer gate in the detention facility was locked.

The police boss said, “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 on, 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.”

It will be recalled that some suspects detained at the SARS facility in Yenagoa, the state capital, had on November 7, 2017, escaped from the cell.