The attack on the Special Anti-Robbery Squad's station near Abuja came as the death toll for suicide car bombings Sunday at a major military base rose to 30, a hospital official said. The sect known as Boko Haram had yet to claim the attacks, but both strikes bear similarities to other assaults carried out by a group the Nigerian government seems unable to stop.
The attack on the police station began around 2 a.m., with a "large number" of gunmen killing the officers and allowing about 30 prisoners to escape, federal police spokesman Frank Mba said. Two suspected gunmen were arrested after the attack and 25 of the prisoners have been captured, he said.
Authorities said none of the escapees were terrorism suspects and the five still at large were being held on suspicion of being armed robbers.
The nation's top police commander has ordered "watertight security around all government and police-related facilities nationwide," Mba said. The robbery squad's station came under international scrutiny after an Amnesty International report this month described it as a former slaughterhouse. The report included allegations of Boko Haram suspects being abused and held indefinitely without charges. It estimated more than 100 suspected sect members are held there. -- A
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