Five-day hunt for missing prisoner who was hiding in jail all the time

A prisoner thought to have escaped from Holloway jail last week has been found hiding inside the prison five days after she disappeared. Aishatu Ishaku, 35, had been hiding inside the roof space of the prison's education centre.

Prison officers mounted a major search for Ishaku after she went missing following a roll call last Friday. Police forces were alerted, a helicopter was scrambled and details of the Russian-born Nigerian woman were circulated to ports and airports.

Ishaku, who was on remand for fraud, was described as having long black hair with round spectacles. She had been thought to have escaped by simply walking out of the women only jail by tagging on to a visiting church group at 9am on Friday.



The escape was believed to have been the first at Holloway for 12 years.

But yesterday the Ministry of Justice admitted that Ishaku had been found inside the jail after an extensive search of the premises. She had spent five days in the hiding spot after taking supplies with her including food and water.

The prison governor is said to have ordered a major inquiry into why the prisoner was not found earlier.