Reuters, Abuja :
Gunmen broke into a prison in the central Nigerian city of Minna, freeing around 200 inmates, a police spokesman and security sources said.
The sources said the gunmen stormed the facility late on Saturday in Niger state, near to the capital Abuja. Islamist sect Boko Haram and al Qaeda-linked group Ansaru have been behind several prison raids in recent years, although it was unclear whether they had anything to do with this one.
The police spokesman for Niger state said the breakout was still being investigated.
“It’s unclear if this is Boko Haram or some criminal gangs,” one of the security sources said. “I doubt there were many high profile Boko Haram suspects being held in Minna.”
In central Kogi state last month, gunmen used explosives to blow their way into a prison in the city of Lokoja, killing one person and freeing 144 inmates.
Gunmen broke into a prison in the central Nigerian city of Minna, freeing around 200 inmates, a police spokesman and security sources said.
The sources said the gunmen stormed the facility late on Saturday in Niger state, near to the capital Abuja. Islamist sect Boko Haram and al Qaeda-linked group Ansaru have been behind several prison raids in recent years, although it was unclear whether they had anything to do with this one.
The police spokesman for Niger state said the breakout was still being investigated.
“It’s unclear if this is Boko Haram or some criminal gangs,” one of the security sources said. “I doubt there were many high profile Boko Haram suspects being held in Minna.”
In central Kogi state last month, gunmen used explosives to blow their way into a prison in the city of Lokoja, killing one person and freeing 144 inmates.
