Nigerian officials have confirmed that over 200 prisoners at a detention facility in the city of Minna, in the state of Niger have escaped following a raid on the facility on Sunday.
The medium security prison which is located in the central part of Nigeria was attacked by gunmen but the country’s Interior minister, General Abdulrahman Dabazzau has sad that some of the inmates have been re-arrested.
A spokesman for the Nigerian Prisons Service, Rabiu Shuaib was quoted as saying that “Of the 219 that escaped, 30 have been re-arrested.”
189 prisoners were still at large, according to officials although there are fears this number could be higher.
Jail breaks often occur in parts of Africa particularly in Nigeria which witnesses high occurrences due to the insurgency of militant group Boko Haram.
Most of the group’s fighters have been detained at various detention centers in the country and such attacks on prisons are meant to get their activists out.
Nigerian officials have said that the latest prison break is being investigated determine the circumstances surrounding the raid and escape.
Source: Africafeeds.com
