Heavily armed gunmen stormed a jail in Nigeria’s central Kogi state overnight, freeing scores of inmates, a prison authority spokesman said on Monday.
It was unclear who the gunmen were but central and northwest Nigeria have been terrorised by criminal gangs for years.
Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) spokesman, Mr Francis Enobore confirmed the incident in a communique on Monday, stating that the attack took place at about midnight on Sunday.
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According to him, the attackers in their numbers arrived at the custodial centre heavily armed and immediately engaged the guards in a fierce gun battle.
He stated;
The medium Security Custodial Centre in Kabba, Kogi State, has been attacked by yet to be identified gunmen and 240 inmates forcefully released. At about 2245 GMT on Sunday, numerous attackers engaged the armed guards in a fierce gun battle.
Mr Enobore further disclosed that the Comptroller–General, Haliru Nababa has ordered a recapture procedure to be activated immediately and detailed investigation carried out even as he leads a team to assess the situation.
The Comptroller-General also appealed to the general public to furnish security operatives with useful intelligence that will assist in recapturing the escapees.
Kabba MSCC was established in 2008 with a capacity of 200. As at the time of the invasion, 294 inmates were in custody out of which 224 were pre-trial detainees and 70 convicted inmates.
Large prison outbreaks are not uncommon in Nigeria.
In a brazen attack on April 5, gunmen raided Owerri police headquarters in Imo state, freeing more than 1,800 inmates, after which the facilities was set ablaze.
The gunmen also razed the Imo State Police Command headquarters and burnt almost all the vehicles parked at the command’s headquarters. No fewer than 50 cars were set ablaze in the process.
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A similar attack was carried out at the correctional centre in Ubiaja, Edo State; however, the jailbreak was foiled by officers at the facility.
The inmates, after breaking out from their cells, engaged the correctional officers in a fight, leaving some of the security personnel injured.
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It took a combined effort by officers from the Nigerian Army, 4th brigade, and the Edo command of the Nigeria Police Force, to eventually overpower the inmates and return them to their cells.
Nigeria’s security forces are often described as overstretched and overwhelmed, facing a 12-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast and separatist agitation in the southeast.
