More than 100 inmates break free from an old Nigerian prison after heavy rains

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian official says more than 100 inmates have escaped from a prison near the capital city of Abuja after heavy rains overnight destroyed parts of the facility, including the perimeter fence. He said that 10 of the 119 inmates who escaped from the medium-security prison in the town of Suleja have been recaptured. The affected prison, with cracked and defaced walls, had 499 inmates, which is double its capacity. Most prisons in Nigeria are old, having been built during the colonial era before independence from Britain in 1960. Many are also overcrowded and more than two-thirds of those detained are still awaiting trial.