Boko Haram's violent campaign for an Islamic state has largely been confined thus far to Nigeria's Muslim-majority north. However, overnight on Saturday this weekend, about twenty unknown gunmen broke into a jail in the south-west state of Ondo and freed roughly one hundred and seventy five inmates.
Although there is currently no clear evidence that Boko Haram carried out the attach, armed mass jail breaks have been one of their signature tactics, and a police spokesman described the assailants as having "superior" arms. Neighbouring Kogi state has seen Islamist violence, but this attack in Ondo would be the southernmost thus far. Ondo is also largely outside the normal area of operations for the (non-Muslim) militants of the Niger Delta.
Over the past years, Boko Haram has been growing in numbers and arms, and the declaration of a state of emergency and military operations three north-east states may have dispersed some of their militants across Nigeria and bordering nations. If Boko Haram is now able to free its incarcerated members as far south as Ondo state, then the Nigerian government's ability to combat militants and ensure order in its territory has clearly slipped further since the declaration of the emergency.
Read more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/30/us-nigeria-prisonbreak-idUSBRE95T0E020130630
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