Asaba - A Nigerian court charged 17 prisoners in southern Nigeria on Tuesday for rioting, escaping and burning down their jail before they were recaptured by police.

On the same night as the jailbreak from Ogwashi-Uku prison in Nigeria's Delta state, many prisoners also rioted and escaped from a jail in Port Harcourt, one of the main oil industry cities in Nigeria. There is, however, no evidence of a link between the two events on Friday.

Court documents show the men were charged with "riot, arson and escaping from lawful custody." Chief Magistrate Stephen Okebu ordered that they be detained in a prison in the nearby city of Warri "since Ogwashi-Uku prison literally does not exist."

No plea was taken from the suspects, who were brought to court under escort by a team of armed policemen.

The Niger delta has been increasingly unstable since President Olusegun Obasanjo was re-elected in April 2003 polls, with disputes over the control of oil wealth stoking unrest. A major ethnic organisation, the Ijaw Youth Council, warned it was planning three days of protests within the next two weeks, raising tensions.

Armed militias are active in the region, although it was unclear whether any of them were involved in the jailbreaks.

Activists in the delta, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears for their security, have said George Sogboma, the leader of the local Outlaws militia, was among those who escaped from Port Harcourt prison.

Newspaper reports also say that the escapees from Ogwashi-Uku prison include two men who are standing trial for the killing of Aminsoari Dikibo, a prominent ruling party member, in February last year. Over one hundred prisoners escaped in each of the incidents, according to the Nigerian media.

Nigerian police spokesperson Emmanuel Ighodalo said police were helping prison authorities to search for the escaped prisoners, but declined to give any more details. - Sapa-AP

Published on the Web by IOL on 2005-06-22 06:30:35