Suspected members of an Islamist sect have attacked a prison in northern Nigeria fighting a fierce gun battle with authorities. One guard said nearly all inmates escaped.

Authorities in Bauchi said they repelled the attack on Tuesday night. But a prison guard said the attackers were first able to free nearly all inmates, while an unclear number of people were shot.

"The prison is virtually empty with almost all the inmates freed last night by the attackers," the guard said. The prison in Bauchi is said to have been holding more than 900 inmates. According to the guard all but 37 escaped.

Some 150 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were among those jailed there he said. "They came in large number, heavily armed, and began shooting at the prison gate," the guard said.

The attackers "gained access and moved from cell to cell, breaking in and freeing the inmates. They set fire to a section of the prison and burnt the vehicles parked outside the gate."

Guards who fled returned to the jail after authorities gained control of the area and found the remaining inmates.

Residents witnessed attack
"They shot dead a handful of policemen at the gate and forced their way in," a resident Isa Hassan who lives across the prison said. "From my house, I could see bodies and injured being loaded into a truck."

"There was heavy fighting between the attackers and the security forces which lasted for almost an hour. It was quite terrifying," another resident Usman Ahmad told reporters.

Residents took cover to avoid being caught in the crossfire and to keep from being mistaken for one of the sect members, he said.

Calm restored
Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua and an adviser to the state governor confirmed the attack, with both saying the situation had been brought under control.

Neither said whether anyone was killed or if prisoners had escaped. It was also unclear how many alleged sect members were involved.

"The Bauchi central prison was attacked this evening by people believed to be members of Boko Haram in an attempt to free their comrades," Yar'Adua said Tuesday.  "They arrived at the prison and began shooting sporadically to gain access, but we deployed our anti-riot policemen, who engaged them and contained the situation."

source: AFP