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.
Martins Owoseni
At least 50 persons were abducted by terrorists – locally dubbed as bandits in northern Nigeria, a local newspaper reported.
It was gathered that 19 persons were abducted in an attack on Mani community near the Indomie factory in Rido Ward of Chikun Local Government area of Kaduna State, and at the Danhonu II Millennium City Kaduna.
At Mani the abductors went away with a woman and her three children on Thursday morning, Vanguard newspaper reported, citing a source from the area, who said six of his relatives were among those taken to the forest.
He said: “19 persons were abducted from three houses in Mani village opposite Indomie company Rido Ward of Chikun LGA Kaduna state in the early hours of today (Thursday).I know the names of my relatives involved. We are in deep thought as I send this message, especially as we are yet to hear from their abductors. They include a nursing mother with four kids, young persons, and an infant.”
The local called on the authorities to come to the rescue of the victims.
In a similar development, two months after the abduction of Kaduna-based journalists and their family members in Dan Honu II, New Millennium City of Chikun local government area of Kaduna Kaduna, bandits on Wednesday night attacked the community and abducted a mother and her three sons, Vanguard news agency reported.
A source said the bandits attacked the house of Mr Mutiu Adeleke and abducted his wife and their three sons, leaving him behind.
“The incident occurred around 10 pm, as the gunmen stormed the community, shooting sporadically unchallenged before taking the victims away. It was also gathered that Mrs Adeleke, who could not keep up with the pace of the bandits’ movement, was abandoned in the bush and had since returned home. But they left with her three sons,” the source said.
“After the recent kidnap of the two journalists, Mr Adeleke had resolved to relocate from the community and had just secured an apartment in a safer location in the town two days before his family was attacked. Mr Adeleke and his family had started gradually moving their belongings from Dan Honu II to finally leave by the next weekend before the unfortunate situation befell his family”.
Kaduna State Police Command’s spokesman ASP Munsir Hassan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, 28 locals mostly women and children were also abducted on Thursday night in Sauna community in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
A local, Malam Yusuf Abubakar told reporters that the gunmen stormed the community, shooting sporadically, and leaving many injured.
According to Abubakar, for some months they were not sleeping in their houses for fear of the hoodlums, but now that they returned thinking security had improved, the bandits struck.
Spokesman of the Zamfara State Police Command, Yazid Abubakar said they were yet to get details of the attack.
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.
In August, a Nigerian soldier, Suleiman S., alleged that the government’s practice of paying ransoms terrorists – dubbed as bandits in the country was hindering the military’s ability to effectively combat them.
He urged the public to redirect their blame from the Nigerian Army to the government, emphasising that soldiers are constrained by orders and cannot take independent action.
The soldier said the military has the capability to eradicate bandits, particularly in hotspots like Zamfara State forest within a week if given the necessary orders.
He expressed frustration that the military’s potential is being wasted due to a lack of direction from leadership, whom he accused of profiting from the ongoing crisis.
He cited the assassination of a Sokoto State monarch, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa as an example of a coordinated plan by certain individuals or groups to perpetuate insecurity.