Boko Haram has helped over 2,000+ prisoners escape prison since 2009

MORE than 2,000 prisoners have escaped over the past five years in Nigeria, officials say, mainly as a result of attacks on jails by the Islamist militant Boko Haram group.

They say that dozens of prison staff have been killed during the raids.

Last month hundreds of prisoners escaped when jihadists overran Mubi town. This week they blew a hole in a jail in Kogi State to free dozens more.

Almost 500 prisoners escaped in the city of Maiduguri in 2009.

A total of 2,251 prisoners have got away and most of them are still at large, officials say.

Figures released by the Nigerian Prisons Service show that as of 30 June there were nearly 57,000 male and female prisoners in 239 jails.
Guardian News