Heavily armed men have escaped from a prison in south-west Nigeria using grenades, the facility said on Saturday, with unconfirmed media reports saying nearly 1,000 inmates stormed.
Gunmen that came in large numbers attacked the Oyo State Correctional Facility with grenades on Friday evening, Olanrewaju Anjorin, an administration spokesperson for the prison in Abonlogo, said.
A lot of inmates were re-arrested after the attack, and it is still ongoing, he said, without specifying how many prisoners had escaped or confirming whether there had been any casualties.
He said the police would give a statement with more details about the attack soon.
Several local media outlets reported that almost 1,000 inmates were released during the attack, but these reports have not yet been verified.
Africa s most populous country has struggled with rampant insecurity, with large swaths of its territory under the control of criminal groups.
On 13 September, about 240 prisoners escaped during an attack on another prison in Kogi state, central Nigeria.
While in April, more than 1,800 inmates escaped during an attack on yet another prison in the south-east.