The Ministry of Interior has said that the Medium Security Custodial Centres, Suleja, Niger State, was meant to house only 250 inmates instead of the 499 it held.

The ministry revealed this as Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, visited Suleja on Friday, after 118 inmates escaped the facility the previous Wednesday.

Ozoya Imohimi, the Director of Press and Public Relations of Tunji-Ojo’s ministry, relayed the minister’s words.

READ MORE: JUST IN: Over 118 Inmates Escape Suleja Prison Overnight

“This facility was built in 1914 to house 250 inmates. Before this incident, we had 499,” the ministry’s statement read in part.

“This is what we keep talking about – the overcrowding of our correctional centres.

“You can look at the environment; it shows that we need to relocate them away from the city centre before creating better space, security and infrastructure.

“Because of the force majeure, the storm that happened, there was a breach of the outer wall of this facility, and some of the inmates escaped. The manhunt is presently ongoing. We will do everything humanly possible to make sure everyone is brought back.

“Obviously, we can see that the walls are old, and unfortunately, there are certain responsibilities that we must take.

“But the most important thing is that we will do everything possible to restore sanity, to ensure that this does not happen in any other facility.”

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The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), too, blamed the prison break on a rainstorm that led to the collapse of the perimeter fence of the facility.

Tunji-Ojo said that the authorities had caught 10 of the Suleja escapees.

“With about 10 of the escapees already recaptured, we are working with sister agencies to ensure the remaining escapees are found and recaptured,” Tunji-Ojo wrote on X on Friday.

At least 110 Suleja inmates are still on the loose.