Dozens kidnapped in two weekend attacks in northern Nigeria

Over 80 people, primarily women, were reported missing following two separate weekend attacks by armed gangs in northern Nigeria, marking yet another series of mass kidnappings to hit the country. The assailants, members of gangs notorious for ransom kidnappings and cattle rustling, have long terrorized rural communities in the northwestern and central regions of Nigeria.

On Saturday, at least 47 farmers were abducted while harvesting peanuts in Niger state, while on Sunday, 40 women were kidnapped in the neighboring state of Zamfara, according to two security reports obtained by AFP and a local source. Bandits are known to conduct violent raids on villages, killing residents and burning homes after looting them.

The 47 farmers, mostly women, were taken from their farms in Rimi, an agricultural community in Niger state's Mariga area, according to a local source. A security report for humanitarian groups, seen by AFP, confirmed the Rimi attack, though it did not specify the number of victims.

Meanwhile, the women kidnapped on Sunday were taken from Yargada in the Gusau area of Zamfara, as reported by a UN security assessment seen by AFP. A resident of Magama Mairake, Adamu Lawwali, reported that his village and the neighboring Maikogo were also targeted in the Yargada raid. Lawwali and Umar Abdullahi, another Magami resident, claimed the attack was retaliation for the killing of some bandits by local vigilantes. Both men expressed concern that the actual toll from the kidnapping might be higher.

The surge in kidnapping incidents in Nigeria has made it a lucrative source of income for criminal groups. According to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy, armed groups amassed around 7.8 billion naira, roughly $6 million, from ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026, a threefold increase from the previous year.

With elections scheduled for January, security and the escalating cost of living are expected to be key concerns. The government has claimed progress against various armed groups, including the killing of a senior Islamic State leader with US military assistance, but violence is reportedly on the rise.

Last week, during a mass kidnapping in Niger state, local communities protested when the governor claimed only a few dozen people were taken, while locals put the number at nearly 550. The jihadist insurgency is primarily centered in the northeast, yet recent attacks near the western border with Benin have intensified due to the splintering conflict in the Sahel.