FOUR prison warders and a civilian were reportedly killed yesterday, while 40 inmates were set free when some gunmen, numbering about 40, stormed the prison in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.The incident came exactly a week after members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal-Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, engaged the Joint Task Force in almost 48-hours of fierce gun battle that claimed the lives of about 90 people.Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Patrick Egbuniwe, who confirmed that 40 inmates were freed from the prison, however, said nobody was killed and that only one prison warden sustained injuries.'The situation is calm and we would surely get to the root of the matter,' he said. But residents of the state capital said at least four prison officials and one inmate were killed when the gunmen invaded the prison around 8.50am.The commissioner said that the police went to the scene to try to get the prisoners back and to arrest the attackers but did not succeed.He said that some gunmen were killed by their members, who also succeeded in taking away their corpses.Egbuniwe said that a combined team of the police and soldiers were still trying to trace the hideouts of the gunmen, especially in Bundigari and Pawari Areas of Damaturu.There was also an attack on the Da-magum Satellite Prison in Fune Local Government Area, where 14 inmates were freed last month.Daily Trust reports that yesterday's on-slaught in the state capital was launched when all residents were still at home as a result of the 4pm to 10am daily curfew imposed on Damaturu.The old prison is situated along Gashua road and residents of the area, including those living close to the palace of the Emir of Damaturu said the main gate of the prison yard was destroyed, a development which gave the inmates the opportunity to flee.'The attack on the prison was like another round of violence on our town' we were really terrified because of the sounds of gunshots we heard,' Sulaiman Babawuro, a resident of the area said.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the prison immediately. But sources said many suspected Boko Haram members who were arrested during the last week's house to house search by security agents in Damaturu were detained in the prison.Since last week, life has been difficult for residents of Damaturu following the two days gun battle between members of the Boko Haram and the operatives of the JTF.There was an initial 24-hour curfew during which residents ran out of food and water supplies. It was later relaxed to six hours, from 10am to 4pm daily.But military sources said the curfew paid off because it led to the arrest of many Boko Haram suspects including, Habibu Bama, the man suspected to be the brain behind the attack on a church in Madalla, Niger State on December 25, 2011.Meanwhile residents of Damaturu are calling on the federal and Yobe State governments to come to their aid.'We are hungry,' Salamatu Baba, a widow and mother of five in Nayinawa suburb said.'We only have six hours a day to go out and look for what to eat. Personally, my business of selling vegetables has crumbled and I have spent the little money that I have,' she said.Another resident, Babakura Baa, said he and his family eats only once a day. 'There is no food and there is no peace...we are appealing to government and well meaning individuals to help us out,' he said.Most business premises are yet to open while the Damaturu Sunday market recorded the lowest patronage in decades because villagers and customers from neighbouring states have refused to turn up.
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