Gunmen storm Nigerian prison, free inmates

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Gunmen stormed a Nigerian prison in the southeastern Imo state and freed an unspecified number of inmates before setting the correctional facility ablaze in the wee hours of Monday, police said.

The gunmen also destroyed the State Police Command headquarters in Owerri, the capital city of the state, and burnt down almost all the vehicles parked at the command headquarters, an eyewitness told Anadolu Agency.

The attackers were said to have operated from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. local time (0000-0200GMT). They sang solidarity songs at the Government House Roundabout for about 30 minutes before attacking the facilities.

The gunmen only spared the anti-kidnapping unit of the criminal investigation department.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.