John A. Afful, AfricaNews reporter in Takoradi, Ghana
Gunmen have launched a massive attack on Tuesday night against a northern Nigerian federal prison holding suspected members of a radical Muslim sect, according to official saying "the situation is not safe."
Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua has disclosed that about 800 inmates escaped during the assault killing at least four and six others in critical condition at local hospitals.
A spokesperson for the state governor, Maigari Kana has said that the incident at the federal prison near Bauchi emerged to be an attempt by the assailants to break into the facility, which is holding the suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.
In July 2009, members of the group rioted and attacked police stations and private homes triggering a violent police crackdown which many where arrested in connection with the attacks last year and are pending trial in the Bauchi prison in the West African nation Nigeria.
The Bauchi state police commissioner said police planned to dispatch more officers to the area, but declined to comment further. Meanwhile, Yar'Adua has said investigators believed the 800 escapees were hiding in the mountains surrounding the rural pasturelands of the region and the state capital Bauchi remained calm on Wednesday.
A Red Cross official Adamu Abubakar, speaking with the Associated Press by telephone said the heavy gunfire could be heard echoing throughout nearby pastures and hills in the rural state and threatening. "Definitely now, I'm not going anywhere," he said.
Boko Haram - which means "Western education is sacrilege" in Hausa - has campaigned for the implementation of strict Shari'ah law.
In recent months, rumours about the group rearming have spread throughout northern Nigeria.
A video recording released in late June showed a Boko Haram leader calling for new violence as the one-year anniversary of their attack neared. Meanwhile, police believe motorcycle-riding members of the sect are killing policemen in the region.
Nigeria is a nation of 150 million people and divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim-held north. A dozen states across Nigeria's north already have Shari'ah law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.
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