Nigerian ‘bandit’ gang releases 48 children after ransom payment

In central Nigeria, a criminal gang specializing in kidnapping and cattle rustling released 48 children kidnapped three weeks ago, following a ransom payment, according to a local chief and a UN source. The children, aged between seven and 12, were seized by the gang while returning home from a farm outside Sabon Rijiya village, where they had been held captive for three days.

The first gang released the children without demanding ransom, but they were later taken by another gang loyal to Dogo Gide, a notorious bandit kingpin with connections to Ansaru militants. A UN source confirmed the release of the 48 children, noting that one girl died in the hands of the initial gang and five others escaped during the transfer to the second gang.

Bandit and jihadist violence has surged in Niger state, with armed groups establishing camps in forests and game reserves in the mineral-rich, agrarian region. Several bandit and jihadist groups maintain camps in the Zugurma game reserve, utilizing its vast, ungoverned forests to hold ransom victims. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered Nigerian security agencies to rescue the abducted children on Tuesday.