ISWAP claims responsibility for Kuje Prison attack, releases video of terrorists engaging in gun fight at the prison
The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on Kuje Prison in Abuja on Tuesday night, July 5.
In a video shared online on Wednesday evening, the terrorist showed some of its men shooting their way into the facility. Tens of fighters were seen marching in groups while vehicles and buildings were on fire in the 38 seconds of video.
An elderly man dressed in native attire also joined the young men who were shouting on top of their voices.
The Islamic State’s A’maq Agency released the video with the caption: “Fighters of Islamic State attacked Kuje prison in Abuja yesterday and succeeded in freeing dozens of prisoners.”
Tuesday night appeared to be the appropriate time for armed non-state actors to strike in the nation’s capital as they invaded the correctional facility, freeing hundreds of inmates in the process.
While authorities linked the attack to terrorists, a total of 64 Boko Haram fighters held at the centre for their roles in the insurgency in the North East were unaccounted for following the incident.
Amid widespread criticism sparked by the incident, President Muhammadu Buhari visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
After being briefed on what transpired, the President expressed his disappointment with the intelligence at the facility with many questions, including how terrorists could attack a security installation and get away with it.
A researcher who analyses ISWAP activities in sub-Saharan Africa, Tomasz Rolbecki, also linked the attack on the correctional facility to the terrorist group.
“I wanted to believe it was not them (ISWAP), but here we are,” he said in a series of tweets while also quoting and sharing A’maq Agency’s video. “Watching the IS supporter groups right now, they are, as expected, absolutely ecstatic (sadly) and are using the same name as the campaign of prison breaks in Iraq in 2012-13 (the infamous “Breaking the Walls” campaign).
“There is one question to answer – how did ISWAP manage to do it? From previous claims, the cells that could’ve been responsible (I’m talking about the one in Suleja and the one in Kogi) seemed very small and unable to do something at such a scale.”