Locals in the Nigerian state of Zamfara, where armed gangs frequently seize villagers for ransom, reported on Saturday that at least 80 people had been abducted. Women and children made up the majority of the victims.
Hundreds of northern Nigerian communities have been attacked by armed groups in recent years, while Islamic extremists have continued their attacks in the northeast.
According to three locals, the most recent abduction occurred on Friday in Wanzamai village in the Tsafe local government area of Zamfara. Zamfara is one of the states most affected by abductions.
Musa Usman, whose 14-year-old son Ibrahim was among those abducted, stated that children and women from the community were kidnapped by armed men while they were preparing land for cultivation and gathering kindling.
Usman said over the phone that the abducted children “went to collect firewood from various households, and a few of them were on their way to fields in search of manual labor.”
Mohammed Shehu, the spokesman for the police in Zamfara, issued a statement verifying the kidnapping but omitting any information about the number of victims. He added that the police were coordinating with the military and local security forces in an effort to rescue the confined individuals.
According to another father, Haruna Noma, some of the missing were from the nearby villages of Kucheri and Danwuri, where they had gone to Wanzamai to clear land for cultivation.
The gunmen have not yet demanded a ransom, according to the locals.
Amina Tsafe stated that her daughter was among the abducted and that the preponderance of the victims were adolescents.
If the ransom is not paid, kidnappers in Nigeria will keep captives for months and demand protection money from the villages before allowing them to cultivate or harvest their harvests.
Even though the Nigerian military has been bombarding camps frequented by armed groups in the forest, the assaults have continued.