No fewer than 1,500 inmates escaped on Monday morning in Owerri, the Imo State capital when suspected hoodlums attacked the Correctional Facility near the State Government House.
The Imo State Police Command headquarters and SCID building situated in the state capital were also attacked in the early morning raid, which a security source said started around 1 am.
The hoodlums further freed the suspects in almost all the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command while some vehicles parked in the vicinity were also allegedly set ablaze by the gunmen.
An anonymous security source was cited as saying the hoodlums sang solidarity songs at the Government House roundabout for about 30 minutes before attacking the facilities.
On breaking into the prison facility with the aid of explosives and dynamite, the attackers told the inmates to go home before setting the building ablaze.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the attacks.
He, however, assured the people of the state that the security agencies were on top of the matter.
See photos from the incident below.
