Bauchi — The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Mr. Olusola Ogundipe, has revealed that 721 out of the 759 inmates at the Bauchi Prisons escaped, following an attack by the Boko Haram sect.

Ogundipe, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists at the Bauchi Prisons yesterday said the attackers came with various weapons including AK 47 guns, cutlasses and knives which they used to overpower the prison staff. They broke into the cells in an attempt to release the 173 Boko Haram members on awaiting trial.

He revealed that 127 inmates who escaped during the attack, had returned to the prison on their own free will, stressing that security agencies were on alert and are intensifying search for the escapees.

The prisons boss futher added that the three members of staff who were shot are responding to treatment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi. He appealed to district heads to report to the police the presence of suspicious people in their vicinity, saying the Bauchi jail break was unusual.

"We cannot say that security was not adequate, they came at the time when people were praying at the mosque in preparation to break their fast. Their action came as a surprise and that was why the few squad men that were on ground were overpowered but happy enough that the police and other security agencies assisted a lot during the incident," Ogunsola said.