More than 130 prisoners are on the run after dynamite was used to free them from a jail in Kogi state, central Nigeria, Sky News reported on Monday.
Jacob Edi, a spokesman for the area governor's office said: "There were 145 prisoners at the time of the attack. One died, eight have been recaptured and four surrendered voluntarily. The rest are at large."
Koton Karfi prison, in Lokoja, is thought to hold many suspected fighters from Islamist group Boko Haram, who have been responsible for a five-year insurgency in Nigeria that has killed thousands of people and driven hundreds of thousands more from their homes.
"They blew up the thing with dynamite," said national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu of the attack, which took place on Sunday evening.
In 2012, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a similar raid on the same prison that freed more than 100 inmates.