Kotonkarfe, March 24, 2025| The dawn broke uneasy in Kogi State today, March 24, as news rippled out: 12 inmates slipped free from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe under cover of night, leaving behind a stunned prison and a state on edge. What started as a quiet Monday turned into a manhunt, with the Kogi government sounding the alarm and one escapee already back in cuffs. For locals like Amina, a roadside vendor near the facility, it’s a chilling jolt. “You sleep thinking it’s safe, then this,” she said, eyes darting toward the now-infamous prison tower.
Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Kogi’s Commissioner for Information and Communication, didn’t sugarcoat it. “Unfortunate,” he called the pre-dawn breach in a statement hours ago, tipping his hat to security teams who pounced fast one fugitive nabbed, 11 still out there. Governor Usman Ododo’s orders were clear: track them down, lock it up, figure out how 12 men vanished without a brick out of place. That’s the kicker Fanwo’s team says they ghosted through a tower, no damage, no fuss, sparking whispers of an inside job. “Saboteurs?” he mused, vowing a deep dive to root out the truth.
This isn’t Kotonkarfe’s first dance with chaos. Rewind to 2014 gunmen blasted out 144 inmates, only one stayed behind. Then 2019 floods tore through, 228 bolted, just 100 dragged back. Today’s 12 feels smaller, but the sting’s sharper how do you lose a dozen with no trace? X’s buzzing with it: “Saboteurs in action,” one post guessed at 10:44 WAT, while another at 11:14 WAT pressed, “No visible damage? Get to the bottom of this.” Fanwo’s on it promising a probe to snag the runners and anyone who might’ve held the door.
The streets are tense. “We’ve got hunters, security, everyone out there,” Fanwo said, urging folks to snitch on suspicious faces harbor an escapee, and you’re toast. One’s caught, talking to interrogators, but 11 shadows linger. Posts on X swing wild some cheer the quick grab, others smell a rerun of Nigeria’s jailbreak blues: Kabba’s 240 in 2021, Kotonkarfe’s floods, now this. “E get why,” a user quipped, hinting at rot deeper than the tower’s stones.
Kogi’s no stranger to breaches oil veins and highways make it a prize, and prisons here keep cracking. Fanwo’s calm plea “no panic” clashes with a history that’s hard to shake. That tower escape? It’s a riddle design flaw or betrayal? Past breaks leaned on guns or nature; this one’s quiet, too quiet. “Raises serious concerns,” Fanwo admitted, and he’s right 12 gone in a blink tests a system that’s bled before. Governor Ododo’s doubling down, but trust’s a thin thread when locks fail this smooth.
Tonight, Kotonkarfe’s holding its breath. One’s back, spilling secrets 11 to go. Amina’s still selling, but her gaze drifts. “They need to fix this fast,” she said, echoing a state and a nation tired of rerun nightmares. Fanwo’s betting on answers, not just arrests. Will they seal the cracks, or is this another chapter in Kogi’s escape saga? For now, the hunt’s on, and every shadow’s a suspect.