More than 1,800 prisoners escape in Nigeria

More than 1,800 inmates have escaped from a prison in Nigeria after it was attacked by gunmen, officials say.
The attackers reportedly entered the prison yard in the south-eastern town of Owerri by using explosives to blast the administrative block.
Six prisoners have reportedly returned, while 35 refused to escape.
Police have accused the banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, of carrying out the attack. It has reportedly denied involvement.
The Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed that 1,844 inmates escaped from the jail in Imo state.
Heavily armed men stormed the Owerri Custodial Centre in the early hours of Monday, after arriving in pickup trucks and buses, the service said.
A police spokesperson said the attackers carried rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, explosives and rifles.
President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an "act of terrorism" carried out by "anarchists". He called upon security forces to capture the attackers and the escaped prisoners.
A spokesman for the Indigenous People of Biafra separatist movement told the AFP news agency that accusations it was behind Monday's attack were "lies".
Imo state has long been a breeding ground for separatist groups, while relations between the central government and indigenous Igbo population are strained.
Since January several police stations and vehicles across south-eastern Nigeria have been attacked and large amounts of ammunition stolen. No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Source: BBC
Trending World
Mali imposes $10,000 visa bond on US visitors in tit-for-tat move
09:23Military says it has seized power in Madagascar after president moves to 'safe place'
21:07Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga dies in India aged 80
12:27Hostage families confirm identities of three of four bodies handed over by Hamas
12:25Israel and Hamas agree first phase of Gaza ceasefire deal
16:53How Trump secured a Gaza breakthrough which eluded Biden
14:54Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize
14:48'Massacre' in Sudan kills at least 53 including 14 children and 15 women
20:41Zimbabwe lawmaker and poet dies after his car hits an elephant
18:18Burkina Faso refuses to take deportees as US stops issuing visas
20:16