Jailbreak in Nigeria; 175 Prisoners Freed

Gunmen have reportedly shot dead two civilians and then used explosives to free 175 inmates from a prison in Nigeria's southern town of Akure overnight, a prison official said on Sunday.

This is relatively uncommon in the Southwest of the country where the incident occurred though jailbreaks have been common in the country. The Islamic sect, Boko Haram has been behind most of the jailbreaks with some coming from the South and East like in Delta.

"The unknown gunmen numbering over 20 came at about midnight into the Olokuta prison through the main gate after using dynamite," Prison Comptroller Tunde Olayiwola told Reuters.

"The gunmen shot and killed two people while trying to get in ... Some of the escaped prisoners have been re-arrested," Olayiwola said, adding that some prison staff were injured in a gun battle and were receiving treatment.

Violence by Islamist groups is mostly confined to Nigeria's majority Muslim north but there have been attacks as far south as Kogi state, which borders Ondo. Kidnapping and robbery are the most common and prominent phenomena in the states bordering Ondo as west generally in the South.