Convicted Independence Day Bomber Charles Okah Alleges Prison Break Scam In Borno, Accuses Officers, Judiciary Of Forging Warrants To Free Inmates
SaharaReporters on Friday and addressed to the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Okah alleged that senior NCoS officers at the Baga Road Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Maiduguri, in collusion with corrupt members of the Borno State judiciary, have been forging and altering conviction warrants to unlawfully release inmates.
Charles Okah, a Nigerian serving a life sentence for his role in the October 1, 2010, Independence Day bombing near Eagle Square, Abuja, and a previous bombing in Warri, Delta State, on March 15, 2010, has accused senior officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) of operating a corruption ring that enables the illegal release of convicted prisoners from the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State.
In a letter obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday and addressed to the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Okah alleged that senior NCoS officers at the Baga Road Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Maiduguri, in collusion with corrupt members of the Borno State judiciary, have been forging and altering conviction warrants to unlawfully release inmates.
He alleged that this scheme has allowed numerous prisoners to evade justice, securing early release without serving their full sentences.
According to Okah, this fraudulent practice has persisted for years in both the Maximum and Minimum Security Custodial Centres in Maiduguri, operating under the Borno State Command of the NCoS.
He alleged how the illicit network operates, implicating key offices such as the Records Office, the Intelligence Office, the Gate Office, and senior prison officials, all of whom allegedly profit from the scheme.
Okah said he uncovered the racket by accident when attempting to assist a juvenile inmate in paying a court fine.
Instead, an NCoS officer, M.K. Babagana, offered to secure the boy’s release for half the fine amount.
Okah said he later tried to report the corruption to high-ranking prison officials following a leadership change in January 2025, but his concerns were ignored.
He alleged that in a bid to create the illusion of accountability, officials presented an isolated case to the judiciary, sacrificing three scapegoats, including an inmate who had paid for a reduced sentence.
Okah stated that the forged warrant was handed over to the judge reluctantly by the NCoS, who had no other choice as the threat of imminent exposure loomed.
The letter read, “Certain officers of the NCoS are aiding and abetting the escape of convicted prisoners from the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Baga Road in Maiduguri, Borno State
“Working with unscrupulous staff of the Borno State judiciary, conviction warrants of willing prison inmates are forged and replaced at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre’s Records Office. Several prisoners have used this corrupt and illegal route to walk out of the custodial centre without serving the prison sentence handed to them by the Judiciary.”
“In the Maximum Security Custodial Centre and the Minimum Security Custodial Centre, both in Maiduguri and under the Borno State Command (BSC) of the NCoS, this crime has been going on steadily and undetected for many years. The syndicated corruption begins at the office of the Officer in Charge and spreads to other departments namely, the Court Office, the Records Office, the Intelligence Office, the Gate Office, the Chief Warder, and the Yard Master, who all get their share from the crime,” he said.
Narrating how he accidentally discovered the alleged racket while trying to assist a boy, he said, “The boy was approached by one M.K. Babagana, an assistant superintendent and told that for half the amount of what I intended to pay the court, as fine, the boy would be released. How possible could this be? So, to enable me get an insight into the modus operandi of the fraud ring, I asked the lad to play along.
“In January 2025, when a new set of officers took over the helm of affairs in the BSC headquarters and the custodial centres, I sought for an urgent appointment with the zonal coordinator, the controller and the officer in charge of the Maximum Security Custodial Centre Maiduguri (MaSCC) where I am currently serving a life sentence, to discuss this serious breach, all to no avail.
“But on learning through an informant that I had plans uncover the corrupt practice, proactive measures at damage control were taken in a panic.
“Three scapegoats had to be sacrificed on the altar of lies and deception. First on the list was an inmate, Abdullahi Idris alias ‘G9’. He had paid an undisclosed amount to have four months shaved off his sentence. His fake warrant was selected from amongst many other forged warrants because it had the lowest time reduced from a court sentence. The forged warrant was taken by the officer in charge of MaSCC, deputy controller, Mohammed Ali Kida to High court 10 where Mr Idris was tried and sentenced.
“Mohammed Kida’s mission of deception was to ‘confess’ the fraud to the Judge, Honourable Justice Aisha Ndume as though the NCoS had stumbled across a one-off fraud that had to be reported. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“The forged warrant was handed over to the Judge grudgingly by the NCoS who had no other choice with the threat of an imminent exposure looming.”
“The unsuspecting Judge was told that disciplinary measures had been taken against the NCoS staff involved, and her registrar, the second scapegoat was fingered as his accomplice,” Okah alleged.
He explained that Deputy Controller Kida conveniently forgot to mention to the Judge that only a few months before he met her, two men she had sentenced to 21 years in prison for engaging in “unnatural acts” (the euphemism for sodomy) with a little boy were free, thanks to the forged warrants they procured for N5 million naira each.
He said, “The men arrived MaSCC on September 10 2024, after they were evacuated from the Minimum Security Custodial Centre (MiSCC) following the flood.
“To give a semblance of taking disciplinary measures against an erring staff, and protect their backs for the record, a sham Orderly Room Trial was conducted on Friday, 7 February 2025 in the MaSCC administrative building, with the Controller, BSC, Ibrahim Bawa adjudicating.”
Okah in the letter identified the third scapegoat as Mustapha Imam, aka Vice. He said he was merely transferred to another station to serve as punishment for a “very serious offence”.
He mentioned that the orderly room proceedings did not address the past and ongoing issue of forged warrants in various courts, which has led to convicts disappearing without a trace from a maximum security facility.
He said, “It is a travesty of justice and a mockery of the Borno State judicial system that the very serious crime of altering already pronounced sentences and fines without the Judges’ consent or without following the due appellate process can be treated with such levity by the NCoS, when for lesser crimes, accused persons are prosecuted and brought to book.
“The immediate-past officers in charge of MaSCC and MiSCC, Aminu Bappa and Usman Tahir have questions to answer.”
“Honourable Minister Sir, I urge that thorough investigation be conducted into this matter of national and international importance. Those found culpable should be brought to book,” Okah added.
