Jihadis attack jail in Nigeria’s capital, 879 inmates escape

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian official says that nearly 900 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Abuja, the capital. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary of Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior, blamed the attack on Boko Haram, Nigeria’s Islamic extremist rebels who have waged an insurgency in the country’s northeast for over a decade. He said authorities continue to search for 443 persons still missing as of Wednesday afternoon. Nigeria’s jihadi rebels have carried out several jailbreaks in the country’s northeast in recent years, but this is the first in the capital city in recent years. Nigeria’s extremist insurgency by Boko Haram and an offshoot known as the Islamic State West Africa Province is blamed for the deaths of more than 35,000 people.