The suspect whose trial is still ongoing, won the beauty pageant held at Kirikiri correctional facility to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day.

Commenting on the development, Enobore said it is part of the Nigerian prison reformation and rehabilitation programme and to also keep the inmates in a sound and good spirit.

He also revealed that to keep inmates in a high spirit, the correctional centres engage them in exciting competitions likes; pageantry, cooking competitions among others.

The prison spokesperson said; “What happened is that as part of our reformation and rehabilitation programme and to also keep the inmates in a sound and good spirit, we organise a number of social engagement amongst them. Some could be recreational activities, some could be theatre work like entertainment.There are a number of programs that we introduced to get the inmates happy and put them in a good frame of mind. First, we ensure that while they are there, they are open to correction, second, we ensure that they are there in good spirit in order to help them kill boredom. There are so many things we do. In line with this, the officer in charge of the Kirikiri correctional facility organised some competitions among the inmates like cooking, tailoring, make-up, among others.These are things that will make them happy because our primary responsibility is to keep them safe and sound. That was what happened and she emerged the best in the competition. It is part of what we do. In fact, the person in charge of the Kirikiri female prison has been doing marvellously well.”

The authorities also stated that 35 other inmates refused to escape from custody during the prison break.

The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Francis Enobore, confirmed this in a statement on Monday.

InsideOjodu reported on Monday that suspected gunmen attacked the Owerri Correctional Prison in the Imo State capital and freed over 1500 inmates.

Hours after the attack, Enobore confirmed that the gunmen forcefully released a total of 1,844 inmates from custody.

According to Prison authorities in Kaduna, the result of a test on Zeenat who has been in detention alongside her husband since 2015 showed she tested negative for COVID-19.

Francis Enobore, national public relations officer for NCoS said the test was conducted in collaboration with Kaduna state government, her personal physician and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Enobore said “Happily, the test result has been released and the inmate, including her contacts, have no trace of COVID-19 virus.  It is important to state with emphasis that Zeenat El-Zakzaky never contracted COVID-19 infection as was alleged.”