21 dead after foiled jail break attempt by Boko Haram detainees at SSS Headquarters

About 21 insurgents were feared killed during the Sunday morning fierce shootout at the headquarters of the State Security Service, SSS, located less than 30 meters from the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was learnt that trouble started when one of the suspects in the SSS custody, believed to be a Boko Haram member, overpowered an operative who was in his cell to deliver food to him.

The suspect was said to have shot the operative with a rifle and went ahead to release his co-suspects.

The source said, “An operative went to give food to a suspect this (Sunday) morning. The suspect was not properly chained, so he pushed down the operative and quickly dispossessed him of his rifle and shot him.

“He quickly released his co-inmates who started escaping with some scaling the fence.”

The incident led to a gun battle between the suspects and the SSS operatives.

It was learnt that in the process, 21 suspects believed to be Boko Haram members, were killed while about 20 were re-arrested.

Two rifles were recovered from them while two SSS operatives were also said to have been critically injured.

The Deputy Director, Public Relations, Department of State Services, Ms. Marylyn Ogar, confirmed the shootings but did not give the identities of detainees who attempted the jailbreak.

Ogar said in an electronic mail on Sunday that a detainee struck one of the operatives handlers on the back of his head with his handcuff.

She added that the attempt by the detainee to escape made other SSS operatives on guard to fire shots to prevent others from escaping from the facility.

According to her, the gunshots attracted the attention of the military, which according to her, had an understanding of mutual protection with the SSS in the event of any threat.

Ogar said, “At 0715 hours, the service suspect handler went to the detention facility within the headquarters to give food to the suspects.

“One of the suspects attempted to disarm him by hitting him at the back of his head with his handcuff. His attempt to escape drew the attention of other guards at the facility who fired some shots to warn and deter others.

“The Army immediately deployed a team to reinforce our perimeter guards to forestall any external collaborators. The situation has since been brought under control.”

She explained in another statement later on Sunday, that the roads leading to the headquarters of the SSS were initially cordoned off to prevent a possible assistance from “external collaborators.”

According to her, the entire neighbourhood was thoroughly searched after which the roads were open to the public.

The SSS spokesperson restated the determination of the service to continue to ensure the safety of Nigeria and its citizenry.