Nigeria recaptures 27 inmates after jail attack claimed by Islamic State

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s security forces on Thursday recaptured 27 inmates who fled from a prison in the capital in Abuja following an attack claimed by Islamic State, the correctional service said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s raid on the Kuje prison, which freed around 440 inmates, among them Islamist militants, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast.

Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds, a Nigerian Correctional Service spokesperson said in a statement.

The prison attack has raised questions on the security of Nigeria’s correctional facilities, especially those holding suspected militants.

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Marguerita Choy)