It was the second major jailbreak this year after gunmen attacked a prison in Owerri in southeastern Imo State in April, freeing more than 1,800 inmates. The prison service had initially put the number of fugitives at 240. Twenty-eight out of the 294 inmates at Kabba had not escaped, the interior ministry said, meaning 266 had got away. Nigeria is struggling with security problems across its vast territory, including armed robberies by criminal gangs, an Islamic insurgency in the northeast and a spate of mass school abductions in the northwest.
The attackers used explosives to destroy the fence on three sides and fought a gun battle with guards at the medium-security prison at Kabba in Kogi State, southwest of the federal capital Abuja, authorities said. It was the second major jailbreak in Nigeria this year. ABUJA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Heavily armed gunmen raided a jail in south-central Nigeria late on Sunday, blowing up the perimeter fence and freeing 266 inmates - almost everyone in the prison, authorities said.Ī soldier and a police officer were killed in the attack and two guards were missing, the interior ministry said.
