Posted by The Port Harcourt Telegraph on
No one had thought a jailbreak in Port Harcourt was possible, but last Friday the unusual happened and what looks like a movie script played out at the Port Harcourt Prisons.
*140 prisoners allegedly on the run
* 20 people feared dead in prison battle
* Prison storehouse burn in the jailbreak
No one had thought a jailbreak in Port Harcourt was possible, but last Friday the unusual happened and what looks like a movie script played out at the Port Harcourt Prisons.
A group of prisoners, determined to escape the long arm of the law decided to attempt what none before them had done, and broke out of jail.
They were led by Soboma George, a one-time associate and number two man of Ateke Tom of the Vigilante who was being held for his alleged role in the murder of a Fiberesima.
The Plot:
The plot to get Soboma out of prison may have been on for weeks or even months from information that is filtering in. Some how the plotters managed to keep their plan out of the sight of prying eyes. It was rumoured that Soboma was receiving several visitors in prison.
Apparently, from facts that are emerging, the Soboma team exploited prison regulations that allow such visits by relatives and other loved ones. It is equally a well-known fact that Soboma and indeed other prisoners, who can afford it, have cell phones with which they communicate with the outside world.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible that it was during these visits that the plot to storm the prison from within and without was hatched, with the visitors probably having the opportunity to smuggle in guns and cash required for the operation, and to take word back to the men waiting anxiously to be part of the liberation of Soboma from prison.
The Jailbreak:
On Friday, the prisoners made their move. Residents around the prisons say they heard gunshots about 9.00p.m Friday but did not know in what direction it was coming from.
Inside the prison, there was confusion as law and order broke down. In every direction people were running to get out of trouble's path.
By now a huge fire was coming from the direction of the prison's storehouse even as the gunfire intensified. Also on fire, according to what we have heard, was a block of buildings in the female wing.
Information reaching our news desk suggests that on the whole, three blocks housing female prisoners were set ablaze.
In the confusion, Soboma and his colleagues escaped aided by associates who entered the area to provide support for the jail breakers.
The jailbreak was probably a warning of what to expect and it sent shock waves throughout the cult world, especially among groups that are now having a face-off with the boys that are loyal to Soboma.
For Soboma's boys who celebrated his freedom firing from their riffles Friday night, it was a time to beat their chest as they looked forward to a re-union with their boss.
But for Soboma himself, it was history in the making. In the world of gangsters and dangerous men, Soboma became the first in Port Harcourt to effectively break out of prison.
Next door, in Delta State another successful jailbreak occurred at the Federal Prisons at Ogwashukwu.
A group of inmates awaiting trial stormed out of prison after they had set part of the place on fire.
Four persons died in the attempt and there were fears two persons believed to be responsible for the murder of Chief A.K Dikibo may have escaped as well..
Trouble had been sparked off in the prison when inmates resisted attempts to take one of them to court, fearing it was a cover to take him out and kill him.
In the parallel information market, nothing is drawing more attention more than how Soboma and his associates escaped
There are in fact, several emerging accounts of what really happened on Friday. Some say marine ropes thrown across the prison walls may have been used to get the jail-breakers out.
Some even hint that they may have escaped with the help of ladders while some others allege that a group of armed men might have embarked on a frontal attack of the prison, shooting at random as they approached.
Eyewitnesses however confirm that a ladder was actually placed by the prison wall while evidence of a tunnel emerged.
The truth of how the jailbreak succeeded may never be fully known except after a full investigation, but Soboma enters the history book as the first prisoner to achieve the feat.
Escapees,
casualties: Although there were no details shortly after the incident occurred, the Telegraph Saturday flashed the breaking news, alerting the people of an unfolding melodrama that may lead to another wave of violence.
It also reported intense shooting around the waterfront settlement that many in the old township area refer to as Abuja Estate.
In the meantime, police and prison officials have swung into action although no official statement containing casualty figures or reconstructing the crime scene has been issued either of them.
Prison sources say that at least 20 people may have died while the jailbreak was on. Within security circles the figure is reportedly lower. Some police sources tell this publication that not more than five persons died
It is not known how many people actually escaped from the Port Harcourt Prisons. Conservative sources put the figure of those who escaped Friday at about 140 while other sources hinted that the number could be as much as 450.
Conspiracy theory:
Apparently, investigators aren't ruling out conspiracy as they commence investigations into how the first successful jailbreak to be recorded in Rivers State occurred.
Our information is that when the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Adetuyi arrived the front of the prison with his boys to ensure prisoners did not escape, neither the Prison Comptroller nor his warders could be seen.
This could only mean on the surface that some elements within the prison may have colluded actively with the jail breakers. It is possible that they ran for their lives when the big guns started barking uncontrollably.
Nonetheless, the police we gathered, quickly threw a cordon round the prison area and around town, with some police sources who spoke to this publication saying at least four of those who broke jail may have been retaken into custody in the early hours of Saturday morning as they made to escape in a bus.
The next day Saturday, no less than 35 persons who ventured to move around the area of the crime were arrested according to what independent accounts reveal.
The police however, said through a source that the figure of those railed in could be lower.
The source noted the police had equally screened those who were detained, explaining that the number of persons being held might not be more than 12.
Free and at large:
Thus far, there is no information about the whereabouts of Soboma and his associates.
What is clear is that they are at large and believed to be very dangerous, according to unofficial security sources.
Why Soboma decided to leave prison the way he did remains a puzzle.
Before landing in prison, he had been held for months by police over the death of one Fiberesima after he handed himself over following a declaration that he was wanted.
At a stage detectives from Abuja waded into the investigation and a search of his property was conducted.
Nothing was obviously found, but the closest the police came to pinning something on him was the discovery of a gun and some rounds of ammunition in a pond within the neighbourhood in which his house is located.
He was again taken to Abuja before being returned to Port Harcourt where a proper suit accusing him of murder was filed. The trial of the matter was in progress before Soboma and his associates thought the idea of a jailbreak would serve their purpose better.
Many months after his arrest, detention and imprisonment, Soboma walks the streets, perhaps in the shadows.
There is a growing fear he may be driven by a sense of vengeance and a desire, probably, to turn into a thorn in the flesh of those who may have betrayed him.
Some are even more specific. They say he may have an axe to grind with Ateke Tom, leader of the Vigilante and might be driven by an urge to do everything to kill him even before he dies himself.
It is doubtful that the Vigilante would fold its hands and watch. It may already have started the process of a massive mobilization of its forces, at least in self-defence should the need arise.
Dicey situation:
That is what makes the situation dicey and the reason why there is such an uneasy calm in Port Harcourt, especially around the old township area and around Okrika, which may turn out to be fighting grounds.
Soboma may have one advantage.
No one knows where he would emerge from or what target he will strike at.
With him out of prison, no one knows where he could be found. But he might possibly know where to find those he really wants so badly, a situation which is likely to give him a psychological edge.
Will Soboma give himself up?
That is not likely now that he has added jailbreak to the list of charges against him. The police and prison officials are not saying so in public but given the circumstances, a massive manhunt may already be on.
In no time, all the law enforcement agents would be on the look out for him across the country, combing hotel rooms, neighbourhoods as well as the nooks and crannies of the mangrove forest which surrounds Rivers State for traces of Nigeria's most wanted man.
All the signs are that the Rivers State, government is working round the clock to ensure that the security situation does not degenerate.'
Security threats, government officials reason, would affect the flow of investment, cast the state in the shadow of negative publicity and make life unsafe once again.
Besides, government had worked hard to ensure that the peace process put in place last year remains on course. Now that there are disturbances and guns are increasingly being called into action, it may be wondering where they are coming from, particularly after it collected guns that were supposed to be in the hands of the warlords and their followers.