One dead and three injured in escape attempt at Bouake prison

One prisoner died of asphyxiation and three others were injured this Monday, April 7, 2025, during an escape attempt at the Bouake civil prison in central Ivory Coast.

According to the prosecutor, the incident occurred as the prison administration stepped up controls to combat the introduction of narcotics into the establishment.

“To protest against the drying up of their sources of supply of illicit products in the detention, coalesced inmates, eleven (11) in total, decided to clash, Sunday April 06, 2025, with some of their fellow inmates, on the grounds that they would be the source of information that allowed the Penitentiary Administration to effectively fight against the use of narcotics in prison,” argued the prosecutor.

Order was quickly restored. However, two (02) people were injured.

The prosecutor added that on Monday 07 April 2025, at the opening of the cells, inmates, in a concerted movement, attempted a mass escape. Their attempt was quickly contained with the prompt and effective support of the Gendarmerie and the National Police.

All inmates were reintegrated, and calm has returned.

However, the prosecutor announced the death of one prisoner as a result of asphyxiation in the stampede, according to the doctor called in for the occasion, as well as three injured, including two prison officers and one prisoner.

“An investigation has been opened to follow up these incidents”, according to reports.