At least 274 inmates have escaped from a prison in Nigeria’‘s Borno state following heavy flooding, the Nigerian Correctional Service said, as aid agencies reported more than 1,000 people had died across western and central Africa.
Initially, 281 inmates escaped while they were being transferred to “a safe and secure facility” but seven were recaptured later, Nigerian Correctional Service spokesman Abubakar Umar said in a statement on Sunday.
“The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial center Maiduguri (MSCC) as well as the staff quarters in the city,” he said.
Umar added that the service was aware of escapees’‘ identities, including their biometrics, and had made this information “available to the public.”
The search for the inmates was ongoing, he said.
