ABUJA – More than 1,800 inmates escaped from a prison in Nigeria after it was attacked by gunmen.
The attackers reportedly entered the prison yard by using explosives to blast the administrative block.
Six prisoners returned, while 35 refused to escape.
The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed that 1,844 inmates escaped from the jail in Imo state.
Heavily armed men stormed the Owerri Custodial Centre in the early hours of Monday, after arriving in pickup trucks and buses, the service said.
Police said the attackers carried rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, explosives and rifles.
President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an “act of terrorism” carried out by “anarchists.” He called upon security forces to capture the attackers and the escaped prisoners.(BBC)
