Separatists free 200 Nigerian prisoners

LAGOS – Suspected separatists freed more than 200 inmates in a raid on a prison in the southeastern city of Onitsha, extending four days of mob violence, authorities said yesterday.

The rioters, who authorities said belong to a banned separatist group called the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), also torched a police station and an armoured police truck. “Hoodlums attacked the prison and set all 207 inmates free.They call themselves MASSOB but they are just organised criminal gangs,” a prison official said, asking not to be named.The raid occurred on Monday, he added.Police spokesman Haz Iwendi said a police station and an armoured police vehicle were also burned.It was the second mass liberation from the prison this year, after about 500 inmates were set free in a similar raid during mob violence in February.At least six people were killed in rioting in the city on Friday as suspected MASSOB members fought street battles with members of a transport union.The groups are vying for control of bus terminals in Onitsha, home to one of Africa’s largest markets, where they extort protection money from bus operators.A MASSOB spokesman has denied any role in the violence.- Nampa-Reuters”Hoodlums attacked the prison and set all 207 inmates free.They call themselves MASSOB but they are just organised criminal gangs,” a prison official said, asking not to be named.The raid occurred on Monday, he added.Police spokesman Haz Iwendi said a police station and an armoured police vehicle were also burned.It was the second mass liberation from the prison this year, after about 500 inmates were set free in a similar raid during mob violence in February.At least six people were killed in rioting in the city on Friday as suspected MASSOB members fought street battles with members of a transport union.The groups are vying for control of bus terminals in Onitsha, home to one of Africa’s largest markets, where they extort protection money from bus operators.A MASSOB spokesman has denied any role in the violence.- Nampa-Reuters