Suspected Boko Haram gunmen break locks and set fire to prison allowing inmates, including Muslim extremists, to escape
A manhunt is underway in Nigeria after a spectacular jailbreak by more than 700 prisoners, including suspected members of the so-called Nigerian "Taliban".
Police said four people were killed in gunfire after militants from the Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked the jail in Bauchi, in the north, smashing locks and setting parts on fire.
One Bauchi resident, who declined to be named, told Reuters: "About 50 men with machine guns came to the prison site, forced the prison open and released all the prisoners."
One soldier, one police officer and two residents were killed in the shoot-out between attackers and security forces, while six others are in a critical condition.
The attackers went cell by cell at the prison, breaking open locks and starting a fire before escaping during the confusion, according to Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua. He said everything possible was being done to track down the escaped prisoners.
Yar'Adua added that police believe 150 Boko Haram sect followers freed by the attack are hiding in the mountains surrounding the pasturelands of the rural region.
Nigeria's Next newspaper reported that the emir of Bauchi, Muhammadu Rilwanu Suleyman Adamu, went into hiding shortly after the first exchange of gunfire between the attackers, police and prison guards. People in nearby homes also fled for safety.
Boko Haram – which means "western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language – is known locally as the "Taliban". It has no known link with Afghanistan but earlier this year declared support for al-Qaida. The sect is seeking to overthrow the Nigerian state and impose sharia law across the country. Last year its leader denounced western science and denied that the world is round.
Boko Haram's members rioted and attacked police stations and private homes in July last year, triggering a violent police crackdown. Nearly 800 people died including the sect's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, apparently after he was handed over alive to the police, sparking outrage and calls for revenge.
Many of those arrested in the wake of the attacks last year were being held at the Bauchi prison awaiting trial.
Yar'Adua said 36 prisoners had returned to the prison on their own by this morning, hoping to serve out the remainder of their short sentences. But nearly 700 remained at large.
The city itself remained calm today, as paramilitary police officers guarded the front of the damaged prison. Police and military units added checkpoints along roads heading out of the city in hopes of catching escapees.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 150m people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim-held north. A dozen states across Nigeria's north already have sharia law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.
In recent months rumours about Boko Haram rearming have spread throughout northern Nigeria. A video recording released in late June showed a Boko Haram leader calling for new violence as the first anniversary of their attack neared.
The killing of seven policemen in the past month, and of two traditional rulers in the past week, raised anxiety further.
Security has been tightened with the police and army carrying out joint patrols and a dusk-to-dawn ban imposed on motorcycles, which have been used by gunmen to carry out the recent attacks.
Symbols of government authority, including police stations, prisons and schools, were among the buildings attacked at the beginning of last year's uprising. Gun battles raged for days as the police and army fought to put down the uprising by sect members armed with home-made guns, machetes and knives.
It was also announced yesterday that Nigeria will hold a presidential election on 22 January next year, giving the oil-rich nation only four months to register voters and untangle its notoriously corrupt electoral system.
Media reports suggested that President Goodluck Jonathan, who came to power after the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua, will seek to retain the office. His candidacy would break the ruling People's Democratic Party's (PDP) unwritten practice of alternating power between politicians from the north and south.
Former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar have both said they want to contest the election as the PDP's candidate.
Police said four people were killed in gunfire after militants from the Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked the jail in Bauchi, in the north, smashing locks and setting parts on fire.
One Bauchi resident, who declined to be named, told Reuters: "About 50 men with machine guns came to the prison site, forced the prison open and released all the prisoners."
One soldier, one police officer and two residents were killed in the shoot-out between attackers and security forces, while six others are in a critical condition.
The attackers went cell by cell at the prison, breaking open locks and starting a fire before escaping during the confusion, according to Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua. He said everything possible was being done to track down the escaped prisoners.
Yar'Adua added that police believe 150 Boko Haram sect followers freed by the attack are hiding in the mountains surrounding the pasturelands of the rural region.
Nigeria's Next newspaper reported that the emir of Bauchi, Muhammadu Rilwanu Suleyman Adamu, went into hiding shortly after the first exchange of gunfire between the attackers, police and prison guards. People in nearby homes also fled for safety.
Boko Haram – which means "western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language – is known locally as the "Taliban". It has no known link with Afghanistan but earlier this year declared support for al-Qaida. The sect is seeking to overthrow the Nigerian state and impose sharia law across the country. Last year its leader denounced western science and denied that the world is round.
Boko Haram's members rioted and attacked police stations and private homes in July last year, triggering a violent police crackdown. Nearly 800 people died including the sect's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, apparently after he was handed over alive to the police, sparking outrage and calls for revenge.
Many of those arrested in the wake of the attacks last year were being held at the Bauchi prison awaiting trial.
Yar'Adua said 36 prisoners had returned to the prison on their own by this morning, hoping to serve out the remainder of their short sentences. But nearly 700 remained at large.
The city itself remained calm today, as paramilitary police officers guarded the front of the damaged prison. Police and military units added checkpoints along roads heading out of the city in hopes of catching escapees.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 150m people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim-held north. A dozen states across Nigeria's north already have sharia law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.
In recent months rumours about Boko Haram rearming have spread throughout northern Nigeria. A video recording released in late June showed a Boko Haram leader calling for new violence as the first anniversary of their attack neared.
The killing of seven policemen in the past month, and of two traditional rulers in the past week, raised anxiety further.
Security has been tightened with the police and army carrying out joint patrols and a dusk-to-dawn ban imposed on motorcycles, which have been used by gunmen to carry out the recent attacks.
Symbols of government authority, including police stations, prisons and schools, were among the buildings attacked at the beginning of last year's uprising. Gun battles raged for days as the police and army fought to put down the uprising by sect members armed with home-made guns, machetes and knives.
It was also announced yesterday that Nigeria will hold a presidential election on 22 January next year, giving the oil-rich nation only four months to register voters and untangle its notoriously corrupt electoral system.
Media reports suggested that President Goodluck Jonathan, who came to power after the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua, will seek to retain the office. His candidacy would break the ruling People's Democratic Party's (PDP) unwritten practice of alternating power between politicians from the north and south.
Former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar have both said they want to contest the election as the PDP's candidate.
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