Devastating floods caused by heavy rains collapsed the walls of a prison in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, last week, allowing 281 inmates to escape, prison authorities said Sunday.
Seven of the escaped prisoners have been recaptured by security agencies, Umar Abubakar, spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Services, confirmed in a statement. “The floods brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the Medium Security Custodial Centre and the staff quarters,” Abubakar said. Efforts to apprehend the remaining inmates are ongoing.
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, has been grappling with its worst floods in decades, triggered by an overflowing dam. The flooding decimated a state-owned zoo, sweeping deadly reptiles into nearby communities. At least 30 people have died, and over a million residents have been affected, with hundreds of thousands displaced.
