More than 1,800 prisoners have escaped jail in Nigeria after the building was stormed by gunmen with rocket propelled grenades and explosives, officials say.
Gunmen used explosives to blast their way into the administrative building of the prison in the early hours of Monday.
After an attack by scores of gunmen carrying RPGs, machine guns, explosives and AK-47 rifles, more than 1,800 prisoners escaped from a Nigeria jail.
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The heavily armed men, who arrived in pickup trucks and buses, were also carrying machine guns and rifles.
At least 1,844 inmates were freed during the attack on the prison in the south-eastern town of Owerri, the Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed.
Six inmates have reportedly returned to the Imo state prison, while 35 refused to take part in the jailbreak.
Police have blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra, a banned separatist group in the south-west of the country.
The group, which say they are fighting to restore independence to the south-western state of Biafra through a referendum, have denied staging the prison break.
A spokesperson for the group told AFP the accusations were 'lies', without expanding.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari called on security services to catch the perpetrators, who he termed 'anarchists', and the escapees.
He said the attack was an 'act of terrorism'.
This attack is not the first to take place in Nigeria's Imo state this year.
Several police stations and vehicles in the region have been the target of attacks since January.
President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an "act of terrorism" carried out by "anarchists" and urged security forces to capture the assailants and the escaped detainees. https://t.co/3jh6JELEJa
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No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have resulted in large amounts of ammunition being stolen.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
