Armed men reportedly shot at soldiers and released hundreds of prisoners in the northern state of Kogi.
According to reports, Ayuba Edeh, deputy inspector general of police zone 8, said the state police commissioner and other heads of security agencies are trying to regain control at the scene. Newsweek Contacted Edeh for further comments.
The jailbreak is believed to have taken place at a federal security correctional center in Kabba.
In reports not yet verified, local media Vanguard the armed men of the states, which numbered “in the tens,” led the attack on the penitentiary, located on the road to Lokoja.
The armed prison breach operation is believed to have begun on Sunday night and lasted until Monday morning, killing an unspecified number of soldiers guarding the perimeter before attacking. the center itself.
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It is believed that the gunmen, whose motivation is still unclear, turned to prison officers before proceeding to “release all prisoners.” Vanguard reported.
The bold plan is believed to have been aided by heavy untimely rain on Monday morning, which led to the prison complex housing the prisoners “submerged by the floods”.
Various local media, which have also been contacted Newsweek, have reported that approximately 100 of the inmates released by the gunmen have since been re-arrested.
Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said in a statement on Monday: “During the attack, security guards who consisted of 15 soldiers, 10 policemen and 10 armed guards of the NCoS [Nigeria Correctional Service] of guard fought gallantly to repel the attack.
“Unfortunately, two Correctional Service officers have not yet been counted, while one soldier and one policeman were killed during the attack.”
He added that the Kabba custody facility had 294 inmates at the time of the attack, many of whom escaped after gunmen used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence.
About 28 inmates did not escape, while some have also voluntarily returned to the facility this morning.
An unconfirmed photo has appeared on social media showing a man who appeared to be on guard looking through a large hole struck in the prison wall.
The poster of the image, who Newsweek has been contacted, added the totally unfounded legend “Fulani bandits kill service soldiers, release all prisoners in Kogi prisons”.
A 2021 report from the Premium Times described northern Nigeria, the scene of the attempted rupture with today’s prison, as “the homeland of the indigenous Fulani people, […] the epicenter of pastoralist terrorism. “
If the reports, many of which are still unclear, turn out to be accurate, it will not be the first time a massive prison break has been attempted in Kogi state.
Another prison, the Koto-Karffi Federal Medium Security Facility, was attacked in November 2014 by unknown gunmen suspected of being part of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
This resulted in approximately 144 prisoners, who were thought to be primarily awaiting a robbery trial, who escaped from prison, while one prisoner was shot dead during the counterattack.
Twelve inmates were eventually returned to prison to serve the remainder of their sentences, while 45 runaway prisoners were recovered in due course.