The dearth of personnel in the Nigerian Correctional Service has been blamed for the escape of an awaiting-trial inmate, Osita Thomas, 28, during a court appearance in Edo State.

An official of the Nigeria Correctional Service, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the officer escorting Thomas and other inmates to court could not pursue the fleeing suspect without risking the escape of others.

The official, who called for urgent recruitment to address the manpower shortage, warned that more inmates could escape if the personnel deficit was not addressed.

 “The warden couldn’t leave other inmates to pursue Osita, as he would risk losing others. The dearth of manpower should be addressed now so that this kind of incident does not happen again,” the official said.

The source further disclosed that more than 1,000 personnel of the correctional service were expected to retire this year, expressing concern that there were no plans to recruit new personnel to replace them.

However, the official added that the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board had on Thursday met to start recruitment of more officers to mitigate the effects of the shortage.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed the escape of Thomas, who was being held at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Auchi, while awaiting trial for conspiracy and stealing.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Aminu Suleman, said efforts are ongoing to apprehend the inmate.

He stated this in a telephone call with our Correspondent on Friday.

“No update yet but efforts are ongoing to apprehend the inmate,” he said.