Dozens Kidnapped in Two Weekend Attacks in Northern Nigeria
Security reports said the kidnappers took 47 farmers and 40 women in separate weekend raids as ransom violence worsens across rural Nigeria.
- On Monday, armed gangs abducted at least 87 people during weekend attacks in northern Nigeria, with 47 farmers taken in Niger State and 40 women kidnapped in Zamfara.
- Criminal gangs, locally known as "bandits," have terrorized rural communities for years, specializing in ransom kidnappings and cattle rustling to extract payments from residents.
- Police in Abia announced on Sunday they recovered 28 human skulls and bones suspected to be kidnapping victims after raiding criminal camps in forests.
- President Bola Tinubu faces growing criticism over lax security as January 2027 presidential elections approach, with safety emerging as a central campaign issue.
- Research from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy, found armed groups raised nearly $6 million in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026, despite government efforts to combat worsening violence.
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Armed gangs known as "bandits" have kidnapped more than 80 people, including farmers and women, in two separate attacks in Niger and Zamfara states in northern Nigeria for ransom.
Radio France Internationale
Dozens kidnapped in two weekend attacks in northern Nigeria
Gunmen on motorcycles -- members of gangs specialising in ransom kidnappings and cattle rustling, locally known as "bandits" -- have for years terrorised rural communities in northwestern and central Nigeria. On Saturday, at least 47 farmers were abducted by armed men while harvesting peanuts in Niger state, and on Sunday, 40 women were kidnapped in the neighbouring state of Zamfara, according to two security reports seen by AFP and a local sou…
On Saturday, 47 rural residents, many of them women, were abducted by armed men while digging peanuts in Niger State. Forty women were kidnapped a day later in neighboring Zamfara State. In the second attack, one person was killed and several others were injured, and the attackers also burned several cars and looted shops. Nigeria: Over 80 people kidnapped by gangs. Local communities in Nigeria have been intimidated for years by motorized bandit…
More than 80 people, mostly women, were kidnapped in two separate attacks by armed groups in Niger and Zamfara states in northern Nigeria over the weekend.
Men armed on motorcycles, members of gangs specializing in kidnapping for ransom and theft of cattle, locally known as "bandits", have for years terrorized rural communities in north-west and central Nigeria.
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