Gunmen stormed a prison in central Nigeria's Kogi state over the weekend, freeing dozens of inmates, a prison administration spokesperson said on Monday (September 13th). .
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"
The Kabba medium security detention center in Kogi state was attacked by armed men who have not yet been identified and 240 detainees were forcibly released
," said Francis Enobore, porte -speak of the Nigerian prison administration, in a statement, specifying that the incident occurred late Sunday.
Around 10:45 p.m. GMT on Sunday, a number of attackers "
engaged in violent exchanges of fire with the armed guards
" of the prison, according to him.
The armed men then invaded the prison, where there were 294 people in detention, 224 of whom were awaiting trial.
Research was underway Monday to find the escaped detainees, said Francis Enobore.
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Large-scale prison escapes are not uncommon in Nigeria.
On April 5, in a daring attack, armed men captured the police headquarters in Owerri (south-eastern Nigeria, capital of Imo State) and freed more than 1,800 prisoners.
Nigeria's security forces are often overworked and overwhelmed, facing a 12-year jihadist insurgency in the northeast and separatist unrest in the southeast.