1,800 people escape from Nigeria prison Joe Middleton © Provided by The Independent
More than 1,800 inmates have escaped from a Nigerian prison after it was attacked by gunmen, officials have said.
The group of attackers used explosives to blast the administrative block of the facility and enter the prison yard in the southeastern city of Owerri, said police.
Authorities are understood to think that the banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was behind the attack, but a spokesman for the group has denied any involvement.
A total of 18,444 prisoners have escaped but six people are believed to have returned and 35 did not leave the prison while it was being assaulted.
Gunmen free more than 1,800 inmates from Nigerian prison
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Gunmen free more than 1,800 inmates in attack on Nigerian prison
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Gunmen free more than 1,800 inmates from Nigerian prison
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Gunmen free more than 1,800 inmates from Nigerian prison
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