Gunmen Free 1,800 Inmates In Nigeria In A Prison Attack

More than 1,800 prisoners were on the run in Southeast Nigeria after escaping when shooters attacked their prison using explosives and rocket-driven grenades, the authorities said. The Nigerian police said it believed a banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), were behind the attack in Owerri, but a group spokesman denied involvement.

The southeast movement is one of the several serious security challenges faced by President Muhammadu Buhari, including an Islamic rebellion in the northeast, a series of kidnappings in schools in the northwest, and piracy in Guinea Bay.

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Buhari said the attack in a city near the oil-rich Delta Niger region, which is the mainstay of the crude oil exporter and the largest economy, was an “act of terrorism.” He ordered security forces to arrest the escaped prisoners immediately. According to the Nigerian Penitentiary service, the attackers stormed facilities around 2:15 a.m. (0115 GMT) on Monday.

“The Custodial Owerri Center in the IMO country has been attacked by unknown gunmen and forcibly freed as many as 1,844 inmates in detention,” the spokesman said in a statement on Monday night. Police said the attacker used explosives to blow up the prison administration block and entered the prison yard.

“The initial investigation has revealed that the attackers … are members of the Indigenous Peoples that Biafra (IPOB),” said Frank Mba, a spokesman for Nigerian police forces said. The IPOB wants independence for a region in Southeast Nigeria calling Biafra. More than one million people were killed in the 1967-70 civil war between the Government of Nigeria and successionists there.

In recent months, the security in the region has deteriorated.  Since January, some police stations have been attacked with a large number of ammunitions stolen and reported the Paramilitary Wing of the IPOB, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), collided with the military.

But an IPOB spokesman told Reuters, the group did not carry out prison attacks. “The IPOB and ESN were not involved in attacks in Owerri, Imo State. Not our mandate to attack security personnel or prison facilities,” IPOB spokesman said in a telephone call.