Ifeanyi was sentenced to death by Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo of a High Court in Abuja for murdering his customer after receiving N42 million from the deceased.
Nwaimo Ifeanyi, a businessman, reportedly bribed top Nigerian Correctional Service officials to escape from a Bayelsa State prison facility, according to sources.
Ifeanyi was sentenced to death by Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo of a High Court in Abuja for murdering his customer after receiving N42 million from the deceased.
SaharaReporters learned that the convicted murderer was later transferred to Okaka Custodian Center Bayelsa State from the FCT in 2019 to plot his escape.
On January 31, 2017, Justice Aladetoyinbo handed down the sentence while delivering judgment in a six-count charge brought under the Penal Code for conspiracy to commit culpable homicide punishable with death.
Although two persons were charged, the second accused person, who was charged with conspiracy, was discharged and acquitted.
The court thereafter sentenced Nwaimo to death by hanging and ordered that his Chevrolet SUV be forfeited to the family of the deceased as compensation.
The court heard that on June 22, 2014, a fire outbreak at Block 396A, B Close, 36 Road, 3rd Avenue, Gwarinpa Estate in Abuja was reported to the divisional headquarters of the police at Gwarinpa.
Two persons, including Nwaimo were arrested in connection with the fire outbreak which resulted in the death of one Mr Remigius Nzekwe. Nwaimo was subsequently convicted.
Meanwhile, multiple sources within the Bayelsa prison facility told SaharaReporters that the convicted businessman had bribed prison officials in Bayelsa State to plot his escape from the prison and flee Nigeria.
However, sources said the plan was thwarted because of the difficulty in getting a visa for a convicted murderer to jet out of the country.
One of the sources said: “He was in Kuje Custodian Center and was transferred to Okaka Custodian Center in Bayelsa State in 2019 due to his plan to escape.
“He used his money to influence prison officials to plan an escape on February 23. They took him to Port Harcourt in Rivers State to get a visa for him. In the process, they slept over and spent the night in a hotel.”
The source added that when the matter was reported to the National Headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Abuja, it was buried so that it would not reach the Controller General’s office.
The source said: “When the matter was reported to our national headquarters, some senior officers collected money from the same inmate and killed the matter.
“The matter did not get to the Controller General’s office and now they are planning another move to complete the visa process of the convict, Nwaimo Ifeanyi. The only option for him is to escape and officers are assisting him.”
SaharaReporters learnt that the correctional service personnel usually take the inmate out of the prison facility to see his female lovers under the premise of being ill.
One of the sources said: “Sometime ago, they brought him female visitors to sleep with in the office of a top official.
“Sometimes, they will say they are taking him to the Federal Medical Center under the guise that he is not feeling fine. He will have sex with women in a hotel. Such hospital trips are approved by the controller of correctional centre.”
“Sometimes, he will dress very well and go out with an escort. You will not identity him as an inmate on death row. His cell is well-furnished; he has a television and a mobile phone. He is highly influential because he deals directly with the top officials,” the source added.
When contacted, the Bayelsa State Correctional Service Spokesman, Gbasi Isari, denied the allegations, saying none of the superior officials of the service would indulge in such misconduct.
He said: “It is not possible for any inmate to be outside the correctional centre. But I will get to the root of these things. I know the scandal that came out in the recent case of Bobrisky. We don’t entertain such things at all. We are professional officials.
“Though we know that there may be some bad eggs (officers) but it is never allowed. The highest that can happen is when an inmate is sick and the medical can’t attend to that, we can refer such an inmate to the nearest government hospital.”
“I don’t know if any senior officers will allow a convicted inmate to go out, it is not possible. I know we are Nigerians. But rest assured that we shall look into this matter,” he promised.
The national spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abubakar Umar, told SaharaReporters that he was not aware of the case. However, he promised that his office will investigate the issue.
