Nearly 2,000 inmates have escaped from a prison in southeastern Nigeria after heavily armed gunmen attacked the facility, authorities said.
The massive jailbreak occurred before dawn on Monday in Owerri, the capital of Imo state. Attackers wielding machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives stormed the facility, blasting their way through the administrative block to gain entrance to the prison yard. They exchanged fire with on-duty guards “in a fierce gun battle” and “forcefully released a total of 1,844 inmates in custody,” according to a press release from the Nigerian Correctional Service, the government agency in charge of the West African nation’s prison system.
The gunmen also attacked other government buildings in Owerri, including the Imo state headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force, the country’s leading law enforcement agency.
Authorities have launched a manhunt to recapture the escaped detainees. https://t.co/mH8gvk6SvG
— ABC News (@ABC) April 6, 2021
Read more…
Source: ABC News