An explosion rocked the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MaSCC) in Maiduguri on Sunday night, April 20, 2025, around 9 pm, sparking a fire in the solitary confinement cell where Charles Okah, a prominent detainee, has been held since mid-March.
Initial reports from within the prison indicate that an object, likely a bomb, was lobbed into Okah’s cell through the open window bars.
Eyewitnesses report heavy smoke billowing from the cell, where Okah has been confined since March 16, 2025. The incident follows Okah’s open letter to Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi-Ojo, in which he exposed widespread judicial and official corruption in two custodial centres in Maiduguri.
According to accounts from the scene, Okah was heard coughing and choking amidst the growing smoke, with his screams echoing throughout the compound. He reportedly shouted that the explosive device had been thrown into his cell, sparking the fire that has engulfed his quarters.
At the time of reporting, no rescue efforts were underway. Sources inside the prison have revealed that prison security regulations require a lengthy bureaucratic process before a cell can be opened after hours, leaving Okah’s fate uncertain as the fire rages on.
“Shockingly, not a single fire extinguisher could be found anywhere within the prison compound,” a source said.
“Similarly, night-duty prison officers seem not to be around. Many inmates with medical emergencies, such as asthmatics, risk dying before help would arrive at dawn,” the source said.
With no immediate response to the fire or medical emergencies, there is growing fear among inmates that a larger crisis could be brewing.
Prison officials are also facing the possibility of a prison break if the situation is not addressed quickly. Inmates, reportedly alarmed by the fire and the lack of assistance, may be forced to break open their cell doors in an attempt to escape the flames and smoke.
SaharaReporters’ attempts to contact Abubakar Umar, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, for comment were unsuccessful. He did not answer phone calls or respond to a text message.
Okah is 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.
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