February 5, 2025,
The Delta State Command of Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, has dismissed allegations that its officers are releasing inmates to engage in robbery operations in the state.
The refutal followed rumors that wardens at Okere Prison in Warri were fond of facilitating the release prison inmates to participate in criminal operations and return them to the facility.
Reports indicated that the robbery happened on January 3, 2025, when some assailants stole valuable items from a young man and transferred N4 million to an online bank account during the incident.
During investigation, the robbers were trailed to Okere Prison in Warri, by policemen, but only one of the robbers who is on death row was reportedly released by prison officials.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Asaba, the Command’s spokesman, SC Allen Iloba, denied the claims, describing them as false and malicious.
The statement reads, “The attention of The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Delta State Command has been drawn to a purported online report with the above caption by an unreliable source “Warri Aproko II”, alleging that officers of the NCoS released inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centres Warri to go for “Omila operation” (suggestive of Robbery Operation) and thereafter return them to the facility.
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“The Command wishes to emphatically submit that this report making rounds on social media is false, unpatriotic and a vile figment of the imagination of the writer in its entirety, as it is fabricated to truncate the existing peace in Warri and maliciously drag the name of this reputable institution (NCoS) in the mud.
Following the allegations that a 4-man gang of inmates at the Okere Custodial Centre in Warri, Delta State were involved in a recent robbery in Benin City, the Edo state capital, the federal government has ordered an immediate probe of officials.
Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had in a statement on Tuesday directed an “immediate and comprehensive investigation into allegations of criminal activities within the Okere Correctional Centre, Warri, Delta State.
According to his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Babatunde Alao, the minister strongly condemned the alleged reprehensible behaviour and emphasized that any form of indiscipline and misconduct will be met with severe consequences.
The minister in the statement, said “I will not allow indiscipline to fester under my nose. Any officer found wanting will face the full weight of the law. The leadership of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) must provide explanations.”
Tunji-Ojo, reiterated his commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the administration of justice within correctional service system.
The Minister called on the general public to provide any relevant information that may aid in the investigation.
