According to residents of a region in Zamfara state of Nigeria, unknown gunmen kidnapped at least 80 people, most of whom were women and children, yesterday.
Publish dateSunday 9 April 2023 - 10:27
Story Code : 268173
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): Residents of a region in Zamfara state, Nigeria, said on Saturday that gunmen kidnapped at least 80 people, most of whom were women and children.
Armed gangs in Nigeria that use kidnapping for ransom often target remote villages. Zamfara is one of the states that has seen the most cases of kidnapping in the country.
Groups of armed men have attacked hundreds of local communities in northwest Nigeria in recent years. Three residents of Zamfara announced that the latest kidnapping by armed groups in the region took place on Friday in Wanzama village.
Musa Othman, whose 14-year-old son Ibrahim was among the abductees, told Reuters that the children and women of the village were clearing land for agricultural operations as well as gathering firewood when they were taken hostage and abducted by the gunmen.
Zamfara Police Spokesman Muhammad Shahu also confirmed the incident but did not reveal the number of kidnapped people. He said that the police are working with security forces and local people to save the victims.
Haruna Numa, another resident of Wanzama village, said that some of the arrested people are from the two villages of Kocheri and Dhanwari, who came to this village for land clearing and farming. Another citizen of this remote village in Nigeria, whose daughter was kidnapped, said that most of the children who were arrested were between 12 and 17 years old.
According to the residents, the motive of this attack is still unclear and the armed men have not yet demanded a ransom or announced any other demands from them.
Kidnappers in Nigeria usually hold their victims for months if no ransom is paid. Armed groups also demand that villagers pay them fees to be allowed to continue farming and harvesting crops.
The Nigerian military has already bombed camps used by armed groups, but kidnappers' attacks on villagers continue.
In just one example of the kidnappings that occurred in Zamfara, in 2019 (February 2021), unknown gunmen kidnapped 317 female school students. It was the second kidnapping of schoolgirls in the African country in less than a week. Before that, one of the biggest cases of kidnapping from schools happened in April 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 female students from a school in Nigeria.
In the year 1400 (April 2021), more than 1,800 prisoners escaped after armed men attacked a prison in Nigeria. At the time, Nigerian authorities blamed the separatist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but the group's spokesman denied any connection.
The communal violence is just one of the many security challenges facing Nigeria's current president, Bola Tinubu, who won a controversial election in February. Nigeria is currently facing a deep financial crisis, shortage of domestic and foreign currency, shortage of petrol and widespread insecurity, and Tinubu has pledged to increase the number of security forces, triple crude oil production, reduce foreign debt and improve citizens' access to make financing easier.
Armed gangs in Nigeria that use kidnapping for ransom often target remote villages. Zamfara is one of the states that has seen the most cases of kidnapping in the country.
Groups of armed men have attacked hundreds of local communities in northwest Nigeria in recent years. Three residents of Zamfara announced that the latest kidnapping by armed groups in the region took place on Friday in Wanzama village.
Musa Othman, whose 14-year-old son Ibrahim was among the abductees, told Reuters that the children and women of the village were clearing land for agricultural operations as well as gathering firewood when they were taken hostage and abducted by the gunmen.
Zamfara Police Spokesman Muhammad Shahu also confirmed the incident but did not reveal the number of kidnapped people. He said that the police are working with security forces and local people to save the victims.
Haruna Numa, another resident of Wanzama village, said that some of the arrested people are from the two villages of Kocheri and Dhanwari, who came to this village for land clearing and farming. Another citizen of this remote village in Nigeria, whose daughter was kidnapped, said that most of the children who were arrested were between 12 and 17 years old.
According to the residents, the motive of this attack is still unclear and the armed men have not yet demanded a ransom or announced any other demands from them.
Kidnappers in Nigeria usually hold their victims for months if no ransom is paid. Armed groups also demand that villagers pay them fees to be allowed to continue farming and harvesting crops.
The Nigerian military has already bombed camps used by armed groups, but kidnappers' attacks on villagers continue.
In just one example of the kidnappings that occurred in Zamfara, in 2019 (February 2021), unknown gunmen kidnapped 317 female school students. It was the second kidnapping of schoolgirls in the African country in less than a week. Before that, one of the biggest cases of kidnapping from schools happened in April 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 female students from a school in Nigeria.
In the year 1400 (April 2021), more than 1,800 prisoners escaped after armed men attacked a prison in Nigeria. At the time, Nigerian authorities blamed the separatist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but the group's spokesman denied any connection.
The communal violence is just one of the many security challenges facing Nigeria's current president, Bola Tinubu, who won a controversial election in February. Nigeria is currently facing a deep financial crisis, shortage of domestic and foreign currency, shortage of petrol and widespread insecurity, and Tinubu has pledged to increase the number of security forces, triple crude oil production, reduce foreign debt and improve citizens' access to make financing easier.
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