Gunmen free inmates at Nigeria police station

Police in Nigeria say gunmen attacked a major police station near the country’s capital that is holding members of a radical sect, freeing some prisoners. A statement confirmed an attack happened early yesterday morning at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad station near Abuja. Federal police spokesman Frank Mba said the gunmen’s assault allowed some 30 prisoners to escape. Mba said 25 had already been recaptured. That station is holding suspected members of the radical sect known as Boko Haram. Mba denied any Boko Haram members escaped in the attack, though security officials routinely downplay such attacks. Boko Haram is blamed for killing more than 760 people this year alone. The attack yesterday comes after suicide bombings at a church at a military base Sunday killed at least 11. One Abuja resident said he heard gunfire for about half an hour in the early hours yesterday morning. The suspects escaped during the confusion of the attack, the police statement said. It said those who remain at large had been held on suspicion of robbery. It also stressed that no explosive devices were used during the attack. A journalist at the Sars headquarters says there are no visible signs of damage to the building, which is heavily guarded with two armored vehicles outside. It is where suspects are held when they are first transferred to the capital. While most Boko Haram attacks are carried out in the north, it has previously targeted Abuja. Last year, a suicide bomber from the group attacked the main police headquarters in the capital killing six people.