The police command in Akwa Ibom has arrested one David Ubong, one of the fleeing inmates set free in the Owerri prison attack.

Almost 2,000 inmates were set free in the overnight attack in which the police headquarters in Imo was also targeted.

A police spokesman, Odiko Macdon, in Uyo on Friday, said that Mr Ubong confessed to having escaped from the Owerri prison on April 5.

Mr Macdon, in a statement, added that the suspect would be returned to Owerri to face his jail term.

“On April 6, 2021, personnel of Ikot Udota Police Division, Eket, relying on credible intelligence, apprehended one David Victor Ubong’ m’ of Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area.

“Suspect confessed to be one of the inmates who escaped from the Nigerian Correctional Service in the recent jailbreak at Owerri, Imo on April 5, 2021.

“Until his conviction, the suspect was a resident of Obinze in Owerri, Imo. The suspect will be sent back to face his jail term,” Mr Macdon said in the statement.

On the security in Essien Udim local government area, the statement noted that the police had recorded success and that a “mop-up operation” was ongoing in the area.

The police urged residents of Essien Udim and its environs to remain calm and security-conscious, assuring that security agencies would continue to do their best in restoring peace, law, and order in the area and state at large.

(NAN)