No editorial checks on this article yet

This article is not approvedThe content of this article is not verified by the editorial team of Africanews.com. Read our editorial requirements to see the criteria we use to decide if we publish an article on the homepage of Africanews.

S.Leone: Prison break

  1. Posted on Monday 6 December 2010 - 16:09
    Murtala
    Image of Murtala
    It was in the afternoon hours on Sunday and the scene was the Pademba road maximum prison situated in the heart of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. A black jeep with unidentified registration with two ladies onboard arrived at the prison on the pretext of visiting prisoners. Few minutes after they left there was reportedly gun shot, and dozens of hard core criminals overpowered the prison officers and made their way out. This is not a scene from the popular Hollywood series Prison break but a scenario of how some 19 hardcore prisoners made their escape last weekend.

    Speaking on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone’s Prison’s department said: “I want to apologise to the people of Sierra Leone for this jail break. It is a disgrace to the prisons department,” Mohamed Jimmy said.

    Jimmy confirmed the escape of 19 hard core criminals from the Pademba prison who were serving various jail term among them 2 Nigerians Ekena Okoro who was notable for killing a business man and also Watford Smith aka mature who is also serving a 65 year jail term.

    “Due to my investigation when I arrived at the Pademba road prison yesterday. I got information that a black jeep with two ladies visited the prison and Sunday is not a visiting day. We only allow visitors on Tuesday’s and Friday’s,” Jimmy said. He blamed a senior prison officer who was on duty for the jail break.

    Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Sierra Leone Police ASP Ibrahim Samura said the Sierra Leone Police will do all it can to arrest the prisoners on the run.

    This is not the first time prisoners have escaped from the Pademba prison. Residents in Freetown have appealed for the prison to be relocated outside Freetown due to security reasons.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive