The suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and other top inmates are reportedly safe after terrorists attacked the Kuje Correctional Facility on Tuesday night.
No fewer than 150 inmates are believed to have escaped during the attack, including terrorists and other hardened criminals.
But Kyari, who was recently remanded in prison, did not escape, a prison official reportedly said.
It was gathered the attack took place around 11pm with rocket grenades attacks and other high caliber weapons on the facility.
While several inmates took advantage of the chaos as the military and other security agents guarding the facility allegedly fled the scene, Kyari and his men who have been standing trial for alleged money laundering and sundry offences, refused to escape.
An insider said: “Glory be to GOD, we are alive and we refused to run away. The major terrorists, kidnappers, armed robbers, murderers have all escaped.
“The Kuje prison was completely taken over for more than 2 hours by the invading terrorists. All soldiers and prisons officers escaped. For more than 2 hours no reinforcement came.
“All doors were broken by the terrorist and every criminal has escaped. Only people that are not criminals, those with less than 3 months to be released and important people like Abba Kyari and his men, former governor Jolly Nyame, Representative Farouk Lawan and a few other senior citizens refused to escape even after the terrorist had opened all the doors for everybody to escape within the period of their operations.
“We are in serious trouble in Nigeria. No resistance at all from Prison officers and soldiers for almost 3 hours the operations lasted.
“Very successful operations for the terrorist who kept shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ from the beginning to the end of the operations.”