Nigeria: Fear of fresh violence by armed rebel group Boko Haram
A prison break by an armed group known as Boko Haram has raised fears of renewed violence in northern Nigeria just months before elections.
The group staged a raid on the prison on Tuesday night in the town of Bauchi, freeing more than 100 followers.
The attack left the prison in ruins and showed the group, which is seeking to institute sharia (Islamic law) in the country, had access to the sophisticated weapons it needed to overpower prison guards.
Nigeria’s interior minister said on Wednesday the rebels had “overwhelming firepower” and guards were unable to stop them.
“Due to the overwhelming firepower which the attackers deployed on their mission, they were easily able to overcome the stiff resistance which was put up by the gallant prison officers who attempted to block the progress of the assault on the prison,” Emmanuel Ihenacho, the minister, said.
The attackers, wielding AK-47 assault rifles, fired on the prison guards as they were breaking their daily Ramadan fast on Tuesday evening, Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege reported from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Between 800 and 900 of the prisoners broke out of the jail, including 200 inmates believed to be Boko Haram members, Ndege said. Four people were wounded in the clash.