The state Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onowakpoyeya, stated this on Wednesday.
He said, “Yes, it is true, two inmates escaped in the early hours of Tuesday and six were maimed. Six were shot while attempting to escape too, and they are receiving treatment in the hospital.”
Security personnel had on Monday foiled the attempted jailbreak in the correctional centre as part of the building and documents were reportedly destroyed.
A source said the two unidentified inmates escaped through the wall of the women wing of the prisons while officers were left with varying degrees of injury.
“The state government recently granted amnesty to 150 convicts across the state as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. The angry inmates began to revolt against what they described as ‘selective amnesty’, saying that they are all prisoners.
“About five other prison inmates who also attempted to escape were forcefully brought down and they were badly injured and are receiving treatment at the Sapele Central Hospital.
“The prisoners are totally misinformed; they thought that COVID-19 amnesty was for everyone. They are insisting it is for all of them.
“How can the amnesty be for all of them, when we have murderers, rapists, and other high level criminals among them? There are conditions for the amnesty, and they should know that,” the source said.