Boko Haram Storms Kogi Prisons Again, Frees 144 Inmates

Gunmen have freed at least 50 inmates from the Federal Prison in Koton-Karfe, Kogi State, AFP reports.
Residents of the state said that they heard gunshots and explosions at about 10:00pm on Sunday.
"They blew up the thing with dynamite,"national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu confirmed AFP. "Up to 50 inmates escaped," he added.
According to unverified reports, the freed inmates number at least 144.
The Controller of the prisons confirmed the attack.

The Nation reports however that at least nine of the freed inmates have been re-arrested.

Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the raid, terror group Boko Haram are suspected to be behind it.

This would be the second time that gunmen would be attacking the Kogi prison in the last two years.

In February 2012, suspected members of the Boko Haram sect bombed their way into the prison before opening fire on the wardens and emptying the jail of its 200 inmates.

That attack in 2012 left one warden dead.