Calm restored in Kumasi Central prisons

Kumasi, Feb.5, GNA - Calm has returned to the Kumasi Central Prisons after an attempted jail break on Wednesday night left one prisoner dead and many others, including security officers, injured.

Four of the injured security officers are on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and their conditions are said to be critical.

Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) James Annan, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer, who confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said full scale investigations of the incident had been launched.

He said the commotion started in the male holding yard when firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) were called to put out a fire started in one of the cells of the convicts' block.

The inmates without any provocation, started pelting the firemen and wardens with stones and other offensive missiles, while some of them tried to pull down part of the security wall in a bid to escape.

He said that forced them to call in armed police and military reinforcement to restore order but this degenerated into chaos.

ASP Annan said the Police had to fire tear gas and warning shots to force the inmates back into their cells, explaining that, none of the inmates were able to flee.

The prisoner was allegedly shot dead when he allegedly made an attempt to seize a gun from a Police officer, he said.

He said many security officers and inmates were thus injured in the melee.

The Kumasi Central Prisons has the capacity to hold 800 prisoners but is currently accommodating about 2,000 of them.

GNA