ABUJA

Hundreds of inmates escaped as gunmen attacked a jail in Nigeria's Oyo State, authorities said on Saturday.

Olanrewaju Anjorin, a spokesman of the Oyo correctional center in Oyo state, said in a statement that 837 prisoners escaped after Friday night's attack on the prison in Abolongo district.

He added that 262 prisoners had since been captured, but 575 prisoners are still missing and efforts are underway to catch them.

The attack is the third this year in the Western African country. On Sept. 13, 240 inmates were freed after gunmen attacked a detention facility in north-central Kogi state, while on April 5 at least 1,800 were freed in the southeast Imo state.