At least 43 persons have been reportedly kidnapped by armed bandits in Kakidawa, Gidan Goga district, Maradun LGA of Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria.
The incident occurred on Sunday after the armed kidnappers invaded the village at about 2am, eyewitnesses said. They shot sporadically, causing residents to scamper into nearby bushes.
They then conducted a house-to-house raid, abducting women and children who were unable to escape, locals said.
Community leaders told journalists that the bandits are yet to establish contact with families of the victims over ransom payment.
Zamfars State Police Command’s spokesman Yazid Abubakar told a local newspaper that he was yet to be apprised of the incident.
Insecurity and violence in Nigeria
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
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