How and why Senegal's 'Boy Genie' escaped prison again

He's known as "Escape Ace" and "Boy Genie" and is believed to have escaped prison 10 times.

On Monday, Baye Modou Fall escaped again from a high-security Dakar prison. After breaking free, he told ITV Senegal the latest prison break was because of the slow pace of his trial and explained how he escaped.

"I had no accomplices. I'm a pretty reasonable guy and I went for this escape because I knew I could do it," Fall said.

"I broke through the ventilation grate on one of the walls of my cell, climbed out on my own with a rope and climbed the prison wall.

"This time I will stay in Senegal, I will not go anywhere. I'm going to wait for justice to do its job. As they have always refused me provisional freedom, under the pretext that I could flee, I decided to take matters into my own hands and escape."

Police in the West African country have opened an investigation.

Fall, who is also nicknamed the "boy genie," has been arrested several times for crimes including armed robbery and association with criminals, according to local press reports.

Senegalese media say the 32-year-old has already escaped from prison about 10 times.

Rights groups regularly criticise the widespread use of pre-trial detention in Senegal, which contributes to overcrowding in prisons.

In 2019, the government put forward a plan to use electronic monitoring tags as a substitute for pre-trial detention, but it has yet to be implemented.