By Francis Sadhere
Four suspected kidnappers of Ebikeme Clark, son of elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark have escaped from the Warri Prisons.
Ebikeme Clark who is now the chairman of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State was kidnapped on April 2, 2014.
As a result of the jail brake, heavy security has been beefed up at the Warri Prisons.
National Reformer Newspaper reliable gathered that the incident occurred midnight of 14th December, 2014, but the prisons authority has been keeping it secret and barred officials from revealing the incident to members of the press.
It was also gathered that the four escapees are suspected members of kidnap gang with gunmen numbering nine who laid ambush in an audacious rescue operation in attempted to free some members of their gang in 2013 in Warri while being taken to court by Nigeria Prisons Service, NPS, Hilux van, and shot dead three warders.
Our source who did want his name on print for security reasons, told our correspondent that the fleeing gunmen are classified to be notorious kidnappers and alleged to have carried most known high-profile kidnapping cases in the state.
The source revealed that the escapees at about 2am on that fateful Sunday burst the ceiling of the prison where they were being kept and jumped through the fence to escape. The incident the source added has created apprehension among top officials of the prison as it was been shrouded from the public and Abuja office.
It was also gathered that five prisons warders on duty that night led by one Inspector Matthew Ominke were detained for nearly two weeks before being released on bail after they were asked to produce high-profile guarantors to secure their release.
Consequently, heavily armed military troops, police officers and men of the state security service have been deployed to the premises of the Warri prisons located along the busy Okere road in Warri South to keep watch of the situation which the authority trying to keep discrete from members of the public.
One of the lanes along Okere dual carriage-way, our correspondent observed, has since been taken-over by fiercely looking military men who have since barred vehicles from plying that section of the road as well as parking anywhere near the prison premises.
However, a security source reluctantly informed our reporter that there was still apprehension in the Warri Prisons as none of the fleeing kidnappers have been arrested despite the manhunts by security officers.
All efforts to get the reaction of the Deputy Controller at the Prisons, hit the brick wall as at the time of filing this report.
