About 42 suspected armed robbers and cultists detained in the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) cell in Yenagoa on Tuesday broke free from detention and escaped.
A Policeman attached to the SARS who was drafted to cordon off the facility said that they were still taking stock of the number of inmates that had escaped.
“The cell holds more than 50 suspects but it is empty, so it is difficult to give an accurate number until they check the records, but we hear that 42 criminals were being detained,” the Policeman said.
The suspects broke through the back section of the cell and scaled into the Yenagoa Local Government premises.
A police source said that one of the escapee suspects had been re-arrested while the search for others had begun.
Reacting to the incident later in the day through a statement, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Asinim Butswat, said only 10 suspects escaped and that three had been re-arrested.
“The Police Command in Bayelsa wishes to inform the people of the state and the general public that at about 0200hrs, 7th November, 2017, the incident duty officer of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) while on routine cell check discovered that ten suspects had escaped.
“They escaped through the ceiling of SARS detention facility.
“Policemen immediately cordoned off the SARS detention facility and re-arrested three out of the ten suspects that escaped.
“The profile of the suspects has been circulated to our intelligence sources and efforts have been intensified to re-arrest the remaining suspects.
“The Command urges members of the public not to panic and to volunteer useful information that may assist the Police in arresting the fleeing suspects.”