Imo jail break: Escapee rearrested in Lagos

A man who was among the escapees from the Owerri Correctional Centre, Imo State has been rearrested in Lagos.

Oyemachi Maduabuchi was picked up after he reportedly stole a sim card of a church member where his elder sister took him for deliverance and spiritual cleansing.

The suspect had escaped from the Owerri Correctional Centre, Imo State, after the jailbreak that occurred on  April 5.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, said: “The suspect, who fled Owerri that same day, 5th of April, 2021, moved to his village, Fegge, in Onitsha, Anambra State, to meet his mother who later linked him up with his elder sister, Amarachi Maduabuchi, of Customs Bus Stop Ijegun, Lagos. The sister, thereafter, invited him to Lagos on April 19.

“The suspect was kept in his sister’s house where she used to lead him to church for special deliverance service. In the process, after the night vigil on April 20, at Bride Assembly Church, Ijesha Area of Lagos, the suspect allegedly stole the sim and the memory cards of a member (names withheld) of the church before he was eventually arrested and the stolen items recovered from him.

“In the course of police investigation, it was revealed that the suspect had been standing trial since 2009 for Conspiracy, Armed Robbery and Arson before Justice Nna Amadi of Mgbidi High Court 1, in Imo State.

“The suspect has confessed to the crime, while the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has directed that the suspect be handed over to the Nigerian Correctional Service for further investigation and necessary action.