Police and residents said on Monday that gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped at least 87 people, including women and children, in two-weekend attacks in Kaduna state.
The abduction came after an armed gang seized 286 students and staff from a school in early March.
Nigerian Gunmen Kidnap 87 People
According to officials on Monday, the abduction happened in Kaduna state's Kajuru district.
The United Nations reported that around one million people have been displaced by violence in northwest and north-central Nigeria, where bandits frequently loot towns and execute mass kidnappings for ransom.
The attacks, which seem to be happening almost every day, have increased pressure on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the authorities.
Kaduna police spokesperson Mansur Hassan said the Kajuru incident happened on Sunday night. Hassan also stated that security agents had been sent to rescue the villagers.
Local official Ibrahim Gajere told the Agence France-Presse news agency that they went and removed people from their homes at gunpoint.
The residents claimed that armed men wearing army uniforms entered the area unnoticed because they had parked their motorbikes away from the village.
Village head Tanko Wada Sarkin reported that 87 people were kidnapped.
Sarkin told the Reuters news agency that they have recorded the return of five people back home who fled through the bush, and this attack makes it five times that these bandits have attacked this community.
Another resident, Aruwa Ya'u, said that the gunmen had taken him hostage but eventually freed him because of his weak condition. He said he was being treated at a local government clinic.
Resident Haruna Atiku shared that they were outside their homes talking around 10:30 pm, and bandits appeared, beating and shooting. He said his wife and two daughters were missing.
The officials said on Saturday that 16 people were abducted in the Dogon Noma area, about 10 km away.
In one of the largest kidnappings in recent years, gunmen abducted around 250 students from a school in Kuriga village, around 150 km from Kajuru, on March 7.
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Nigeria's School Abductions
The group Boko Haram was the first to kidnap students from a school in Nigeria, seizing around 200 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno state, a decade ago. However, since then, criminal gangs without any particular ideological affiliations have started using the strategy to extract ransom payments.
In Nigeria, victims of kidnapping are frequently set free following discussions with the authorities. However, a law enacted in 2022 bans handing money to kidnappers, and authorities deny ransom payments are made.
Families and towns are being torn apart by the kidnappings, which force people to pool their savings to pay the ransom. This frequently means selling valuables like grain, animals, and property to secure the return of loved ones.
Furthermore, SBM Intelligence, a risk consultancy based in Nigeria, said that 4,777 people have been kidnapped since Tinubu took office in May.
