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Prison Service: Escape of Kombian was a mistake

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The Prisons Service has vowed not to repeat the mistakes which led to the escape from prison custody of Johnson Kombian, a known armed robber. Kombian was re-arrested by Togolese security men and handed over to Ghanaian authorities after he broke jail in Tamale. He is alleged to have killed two police men and injured another after escaping from prison custody before fleeing to Togo. On his trial at a Circuit Court in Accra on Monday, prosecutors say Kombian had told investigators that a prison warden in Tamale aided his escape. But the Service is denying the claim. Director of Public Affairs at the Prisons Service Courage Atsem told Joy FM’s Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Kombian’s escape is more of negligence than willfulness. According to him, a committee which probed the escape of the jail breaker concluded that officers on duty were negligent. “The Kombian’s escape was not an exception. A committee was set up that went in to find what actually transpired and I must say that the issue of him being aided by prison officers never came up in the investigation. “The committee was able to find out how he managed to escape and some officers on duty were find culpable by the committee by negligence and not the issue of willfulness,” he said. He admitted though, that whether negligence or willfulness, the personnel on duty failed in upholding the mandate of the Prisons Service which is to keep prisoners in safe custody. Courage Atsem said if the Service finds the revelation by Kombian as fresh evidence it may conduct a further probe. He described the escape of Kombian as a mistake but assured the “Service will put the necessary security measures in place to make sure he does not escape again.” Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.