A band of unidentified gunmen raided a police investigation department and correctional facility in Owerri, the Imo State capital, freeing inmates and setting the facilities ablaze, multiple reports say.

Eyewitnesses tell Pulse that the attack occurred in the early hours of Easter Monday, April 5, 2021.

Heavy gunfire rang round the areas, social media users say, amid sundry reports that hundreds of inmates are now on the run. It is unclear at the time of reporting if there have been any casualties.

Imo State has been the hotbed of a duel between the Eastern Security Network (ESN)-- the militant arm of separatist IPOB--and Nigerian security forces.

Nigeria Police spokesperson, Frank Mbah, was not immediately available for comments on the situation in Imo when Pulse reached out to him.

This is a developing story and we will furnish our readers with more details in subsequent news items as soon as we have them.

There have been frequent prison breaks in Nigeria in recent times, most notably in Edo where nearly 2,000 inmates bolted out of a prison facility in Benin city in the thick of the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.