The Department of State Services, DSS, has apprehended an inmate described as “a slim young man” after a major operation at the Kirikiri prison in Apapa, Lagos.
It was reported how a large number of officers stormed the penitentiary last week in search of the fellow threatening one of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s daughters.
It was learnt, Monday night, that the VP’s second daughter Kiki, an entrepreneur, was the target of “a serious threat to life”. The extent is still unknown, with the secret service remaining silent.
DSS agents arrived at the prison on Sunday March 12 and completed the mission after a 72-hour presence which saw staff and visitors face additional scrutiny before entry or exit.
It was gathered that a unit of operatives routinely moved round the premises in a Communication Command Vehicle while the rest stayed outside.
Sources revealed that after days of tactics and intelligence gathering that involved the questioning of the culprit’s father, the operatives succeeded in locating him.
“They didn’t leave until the operation was completed. The order from the headquarters was to find the person(s) behind the threat by all means necessary.
“The phone used was under surveillance; he was eventually found at the Medium Security Prison last Tuesday or Wednesday. Before then, the agents had gone from cell to cell,” one said.
After the DSS left, the top echelon of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, in Abuja dispatched a special team to the prison on Thursday.
The “external officers” were said to have thoroughly combed different cells for hours, confiscating sim cards, undeclared cash, phones and other prohibited items found.
“A shake-up is expected. What happened will most likely result in the transfer of some personnel out of Kirikiri,” a prison officer hinted.
There are about 353 inmates on death row at the jailhouse, while 210 are serving life terms, according to NCoS Public Relations Officer in Lagos, CS Rotimi Oladokun.
Those awaiting execution committed murder, treason, armed robbery, kidnapping, aiding suicide of a child or lunatic, fabricating evidence causing death sentence of an innocent person, among others.
There are five custodial centres in Lagos – Ikoyi, Badagry, Kirikiri Female, Kirikiri Medium and Kirikiri Maximum. The Ikoyi prison, built to accommodate 800 inmates, has 2,400, Oladokun said.
Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre, with 1,006-inmate capacity, currently houses 2,100; Kirikiri Medium, built for 5,930 inmates, has fewer prisoners; Kirikiri Female hosts around 200 felons.
