Riot in Rivers state correctional center leaves one dead and many others injured

An attempted jailbreak at Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in Rivers state on Monday, April 11, left one inmate dead and many others injured.Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Correctional Centre, Juliet Ofoni, who confirmed the incident said the riot occured at the old Port Harcourt Township Correctional Centre, in Port Harcourt City Local Council of Rivers State.

She explained that trouble started early hours of yesterday when one inmate died as a result of a clash with a rival inmate.

According to her, friends of the deceased inmates who were aggrieved staged a protest and planned a reprisal attack when authorities stepped in, using teargas to quell the situation. Ofoni, however, said some inmates had seized the opportunity of the unrest to attempt jailbreak by scaling the prison fence, but were shot at from outside the prison yard. She stated that some of the inmates sustained bullet wounds, but no life was lost in the incident.