Nigeria: Post election violence suspects escape from Jail
Photo Credit: Press S TV, 2011.
Nigeria: Post election violence suspects escape from Jail
The AFP reported Saturday that 12 of the suspects detained over the post-election violence have escaped after riot broke out in an overcrowded jail in northern Nigeria.
The controller of prisons in Adamawa state, Andrew Barka said 18 of the 600 arrested this week escaped but six were later captured.
"There was heavy congestion. The living conditions have worsened since the suspects were brought in," Barka told AFP.
"Therefore yesterday they went on riot, burning a section of our (training) workshop and injuring two wardens. Some of them tried to escape by scaling over the fence," Barka added.
Arrested suspects of the post election violence in Nigeria in April, 2007
The following is the rest of the report.
Rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 people have been arrested since the riots broke out after last weekend's election won by incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian.
Riots in several states in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria after the election claimed nearly 250 lives, according to a rights group, and displaced 74,000 people.
Military patrols and curfews have largely restored calm in the affected states.
Barka said the situation in Yola had been brought under control, dismissing local media speculation that the jailbreak may have been organized by suspected members of a radical sect based in the north.
An Islamist sect, Boko Haram, last year freed more than 700 prisoners during an attack in nearby Bauchi state.
1st Anniversary of BP/Deepwater Horizon Explosion Royal Wedding
comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Web Properties for March 2011
Global Color Studies Show Ford Customer Tastes: Germany, Norway Like Black; U.S. Coasts Choose Silver Adjustable Height Basketball Hoop Turns 25
Comments