Gunmen broke out more than 260 inmates during an attack on a prison in Jos, a central city in Nigeria, officials said. This was the fourth raid of the sort in Nigeria in 2021.

The attack was launched Sunday, authorities reported, and Nigerian Correctional Service spokesman Francis Enobore reported that the attack left nine inmates, a guard, and an attacker dead, while 262 inmates escaped.

"Sadly, one of the NCoS Armed Squad personnel paid the supreme price in the encounter while nine inmates also lost their lives. Another staff of the Service was shot in the hand and six inmates were also injured in the attack," the NCoS declared.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the raid in the capital of Plateau State.

This breakout is the newest in a long series of breakouts in the most-populated African country.

One of the main reasons behind such escapes in Nigeria is the large number of inmates compared to the small number of guards deployed in each prison. The prison subject to the attack had 1060 inmates at the time of the breakout.

800 inmates escaped a prison in Oyo in October when gunmen stormed it. The Nigerian authorities managed to re-capture more than half the escaped convicts the following day.