According to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), the bombing incident at the Maiduguri Custodial Center is not true.
Umar Abubakar, a Deputy Controller of Corrections and NCoS Public Relations Officer, said in a statement on Monday that the Nigerian Correctional Service had been alerted to an online report of an alleged bomb explosion in Maiduguri Custodial Center. Given the calm and stable circumstances at the custodial facility, the report is untrue and deceptive.
He continued by saying: “The prisoners are not interfering with their rehabilitation programs or treatment regimen. There have been no security lapses at any of our custodial facilities nationwide.
“The fake report should be disregarded.”
The solitary confinement cell where Charles Okah, a well-known detainee who has been detained since mid-March, is on fire after an explosion rocked the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MaSCC) in Maiduguri on Sunday night, April 20, 2025, at around 9 p.m., according to an online news outlet.
According to the report, the first reports from inside the prison said that something—likely a bomb—was thrown through the open window bars into Okah’s cell.
Additionally, the report stated that witnesses reported seeing a lot of smoke coming from the cell where Okah has been detained since March 16, 2025.
