Explosion kills two inmates in Nigerian prison – Official

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An explosion caused by a faulty electricity transformer has killed two inmates in a prison facility in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’s South-south.

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Frank Okonkwo, the controller of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in Akwa Ibom, disclosed this to reporters in Uyo on Thursday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

The deceased victims were awaiting trial, the official said, without disclosing their identity.

Mr Okonkwo said the explosion injured two prison officials.

“There was an explosion at a nearby transformer a fortnight ago, which led to a high voltage wire snapping and dropping at a portion of the NCoS facility, causing a total blackout.

“During that explosion, the two deceased victims were thrown up where they were seated, and were later confirmed dead by doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital,” he said.

The official described the incident as unfortunate. He said the families of the deceased have been notified of the incident.

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“We are mostly pained that the explosion led to the death of two of our inmates. It is quite painful.

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“We urge the relevant authorities to address the issue around the faulty transformer to forestall any tragic incident in the future,” he said.

The prison facility is a few metres away from the Government House, Uyo, where the state governor has his office and official residence. The state government had long planned to relocate the ageing facility to another area, but it is unclear why that has not been done.