Prison Inmate Who Went To Urinate Scales Fence During Trial In Lokoja

Reports reaching ADELOVE say an inmate of the medium security prison, Koton-Karfe in Kogi state, Lawrence Urih has escaped from custody during his trial at the State High Court in Lokoja.

Urih escaped from the prison warders in the premises of the state high court where he was brough for the continuation of his trial.

It was gathered that the inmate who was standing trial at Kogi High Court II for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery scaled the walls of the High Court complex and escaped when an officer of the Prison Service escorted him out to urinate.

Urih, a painter from Ole, Delta State, was escorted out by an unarmed prisons warden and crossed a stretch of over 50 meters of grassland to the high wall to urinate.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Kogi state command of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Umar Abubakar, who confirmed the incident on Tuesday in Lokoja, said the escape took place on Monday.

He however, said the command was not immediately informed as he had to confirm from the officer in charge of the Koton-Karfe prisons on Tuesday.

However, the prosecuting counsel, Badama Kadiri, expressed concerns over the development, saying he suspected foul play in the escape of the accused.

He said it was wrong for a trained prisons’ personnel to escort a self-confessed armed robber to urinate during trial unarmed and without handcuffs.