Seven inmates escaped and one police inspector was killed during an attack on the Okigwe Correctional Centre in Imo State, Nigeria, on Monday, the police said.

Authorities suspect the attackers were members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

Police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

Okoye said the attacker stormed the facility in the early hours, freeing the inmates and killing an inspector on duty.

He added that the attacker abducted a police operative during the attack.

The spokesman disclosed that the attack happened at a farm settlement of the correctional facility in Umualomoke, a community in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state.

The hoodlums also attacked the residence of a Nigerian Senator, Patrick Ndubeze, within the Okigwe area,Okoye added.

The state commissioner of police, Danjuma Aboki, who visited the scene, said he has deployed a police special tactical squad, the military and other security agencies to track down the IPOB members who allegedly carried out the attack.

Aboki has also directed the security agencies to ensure that the abducted operative was rescued unhurt and the fleeing inmates rearrested.

The police commissioner, however, urged residents to support the security agencies with “useful information” that would aid the arrest of the hoodlums behind the attack.

The attack is the second prison break in Imo State in three years. The Owerri Correctional Centre was attacked in April 2021 and over 1,800 inmates were freed.

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