In now-deleted tweet, NCoS releases names, faces of inmates who escaped from Owerri Custodial Centre

The Nigerian Correctional Services has released the profiles of escapees from the Owerri facility in Imo State.

The NCoS put up the profiles in a tweet sighted by Ripples Nigeria, but it was soon after deleted.

The now-deleted piece of information from the Twitter page of the NCoS was posted on Friday morning, April 9.

More than 1,800 inmates escaped from the facility after it was attacked by gunmen, officials confirmed.

The attackers reportedly entered the prison yard in Owerri by using explosives to blast the administrative block.

Six prisoners have reportedly returned, while 35 refused to escape.

Read also: OWERRI JAILBREAK: NCoS confirms recapture of 48 inmates

Police have accused the banned separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of carrying out the attack, but the group has denied any involvement in the attack.

The Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed that 1,844 inmates escaped from the jail in Imo state.

Heavily armed men stormed the Owerri Custodial Centre in the early hours of Monday, after arriving in pickup trucks and buses, the service said.

A police spokesperson said the attackers carried rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, explosives, and rifles.

Since January several police stations and vehicles across south-eastern Nigeria have been attacked and large amounts of ammunition stolen. No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

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