GUNMEN attacked the Kuje prison, in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday night.
Residents of the area confirmed that the gunmen shot sporadically for about an hour. They also disclosed that explosives went off during the attack.
A Twitter user Dara Moren who said she was in the area at the time, made a post about the attack.
“Currently in Kuje and the shooting has been going on for almost an hour now. A bit of calm and next thing the gunshots begin again. May God have mercy on us,” she posted on her Twitter handle.
“Kuje prison under attack! Two bomb blasts, countless gunshots,” another user, J.S. Ramadan also tweeted.
In another post Ramadan alleged that 15 prisoners escaped into the Government Secondary School in the area during the attack.
“About 15 prisoners that broke out from the Kuje Prison stormed into our school through the fence. We had to keep cool heads and keep praying for our safety and massive God’s intervention,” Ramadan said.
The ICIR made efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Josephine Adeh, over the incident, but she did not respond to calls or text messages as at the time of filing this report.
Gunmen also attacked an advance team of security guards and other members of Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari’s convoy on Tuesday.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu described the incident as sad and unwelcome, adding that the attack was repelled by security operatives.
He noted that two persons in the convoy were receiving medical attention for injuries sustained while other staff members are safe.
“Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura,” Shehu said.
Buhari is billed to travel to Daura, his hometown in Katsina State, to celebrate the forthcoming Sallah festivities.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.