The Nigerian authorities have revealed that nearly 300 inmates have escaped from custody after severe flooding damaged a prison in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.
However, seven of those have been brought back to detention.
The flooding was caused by the collapse of a dam following heavy rainfall.
Thousand of persons in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, have been forced from their homes by flood and at least, thirty have died.
The State Governor, Babagana Zulum described the extent of the damage as “beyond human imagination”.
‘I thought I would die with my six children’ – dam collapse survivor
This is the first time that the Nigerian authorities have admitted to the numbers who fled custody.
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) said on Sunday that after the walls of the medium security prison had been damaged, inmates were in the process of being transferred and some managed to escape during the “evacuation to a safe and secure facility”.
Governor Zulum had earlier told the BBC that some members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram were among those who had got out.
But it is not clear how many of the fugitives are linked to jihadist violence.
NCoS spokesperson Umar Abubakar has tried to assure the public that his organisation is working with security agencies to recapture those who fled.
It has published the photos of the missing men and has urged people to remain calm adding that the prison break does not affect public safety.