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Nearly 2,000 inmates freed during attacks on Nigerian prisons

Published:Tuesday | October 20, 2020 | 12:36 PM
People hold banners as they demonstrate on the street to protest against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, October 20, 2020. After 13 days of protests against police brutality, authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city as moves are made to stop growing violence. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities say nearly 2,000 inmates have broken out of jail after crowds attacked two prisons in the latest unrest to hit Africa’s most populous nation.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mohammed Manga said two correctional centers had come under attack by protesters.

At last count, 1,993 inmates were missing, he said Tuesday.

“Most of the inmates held at the centers are convicted criminals serving terms for various criminal offences, awaiting execution or standing trial for violent crimes,” he said in a statement.

Manga said that large crowds bearing dangerous weapons had attacked the officers on guard duty at the facilities.

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