Gunmen Free More Than 1,800 Inmates in Attack on Nigerian Prison

Gunmen Free More Than 1,800 Inmates in Attack on Nigerian Prison
Burnt vehicles are seen outside the Nigeria police force Imo state command headquaters after gunmen attacked and set properties ablaze in Imo State, Nigeria, on April 5, 2021. David Dosunmu/Handout via Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

YENAGOA, Nigeria—More than 1,800 prisoners are on the run in southeast Nigeria after escaping when heavily armed gunmen attacked their prison using explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, the authorities said.

Nigerian police said it believed a banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was behind the attack in the city of Owerri, but a spokesman for the group denied involvement.