The prison break after an assault on Thursday unmasked a lack of improved security at the facility, despite vows by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) chief Nasser al-Wuhayshi last year to free incarcerated members of his group.
Wuhayshi himself escaped in February 2006 from the political security prison in Sanaa with 22 other members of AQAP before being named the group's leader a year later.
Hadi today made a surprise visit to the interior ministry and the central prison where he was briefed on details of the assault, state news agency Saba reported.
"Any visitor to a ministry or any such installation can easily judge the level of readiness and security even from outside the entrance," Hadi said at the interior ministry.
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He called for "increased alertness" by security forces, "especially in Sanaa," Saba reported.
Security officials said a two-pronged assault on the prison began when an explosives-laden vehicle slammed into the eastern gate just after sunset.
Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen simultaneously attacked guards at the main entrance, creating a diversion that allowed some prisoners to escape through the hole.
Such large-scale assaults have become more frequent in Yemen, prompting analysts to warn of Al-Qaeda penetration into security and military services.
In December, Al-Qaeda gunmen wearing military fatigues launched a brazen daylight assault on the defence ministry that killed 56 people.
Several branches of the security apparatus are still controlled by officials loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who was ousted in 2011 following an uprising against his 33 years in power.
Saleh's critics accuse him of using his loyalists to hamper transition in the poverty-striken country.