No fewer than 42 suspected armed robbers and cultists detained by the Special Anti Robbery Squad cell (SARS) in Yenagoa on Tuesday broke free from detention and escaped.
A Policeman attached to the SARS who was drafted to cordon off the facility said that they were still taking stock of the number of inmates that had escaped.
“The cell holds more than 50 suspects but it is empty, so it is difficult to give an accurate number until they check the records, but we hear that 42 criminals were being detained,” the Policeman said.
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The suspects broke through the back section of the cell and scaled into the Yenagoa Local Government premises.
A police source said that one of the escapee suspects had been re-arrested while the search for others had begun.
DSP Asinin Butswat, Spokesman of the Police Command in Bayelsa, said the incident was being investigated but that the details were sketchy.
He promised to provide further details as soon as they are available.
Yenagoa is a local government area of 706 km² and a population of 352,285 at the 2006 census.
The postal code of the area is 561.
The Ijaw form the majority of the state. English is the official language, but Epie-Atissa language is the major local language spoken in Yenagoa.
