At least 100 northern Nigeria villagers kidnapped in region’s latest mass abduction

Parents wait for news about the kidnapped LEA primary and secondary school students in Kuriga, in the Nigerian state of Kaduna, on March 9. Last Friday's kidnapping was only one of three mass abductions in northern Nigeria since late last week. No group claimed responsibility for any of the abductions but two different groups are blamed. Photo / AP

Armed gangs attacked two villages in Nigeria’s northwest over the weekend and seized at least 100 people from their homes, residents and a state official told The Associated Press, in the region’s latest mass abduction.

The gunmen attacked communities in Kaduna state’s Kajuru council area, said Usman Dallami Stingo, who represents Kajuru in the state legislature.

Kaduna state is where nearly 300 schoolchildren were abducted less than two weeks ago. The latest kidnappings, like the previous one, have been blamed on bandit groups known for mass killings and kidnappings in Nigeria’s northwestern and central regions. Most of the bandits were previously herders in conflict with local communities.

Parents wait for news about the kidnapped LEA primary and secondary school students in Kuriga, in the Nigerian state of Kaduna. Photo / AP

The kidnappers attacked the Dogon Noma community and abducted 14 women, then attacked the Kajuru-Station community and seized 87 people, Stingo said.

“There is no presence of security nearby,” he said, echoing concerns about the absence of security forces in remote villages across the region, where arrests are rare.

At least eight of those abducted in the latest attacks were relatives of Madaki Tanko Aridu in Dogon Noma, who lamented the lack of response from security agencies.

“Up till now, no force man has reported there,” he said.

Meanwhile, security forces are yet to provide any public update on the rescue operation for the schoolchildren abducted earlier this month in Kaduna’s town of Kuriga. The children are thought to be held hostage in the vast forests that connect most states in the troubled region.

President Bola Tinubu, elected to lead the country of more than 210 million people last year, has ruled out the payment of ransoms — as is often done — in the operation to free the children.

Tinubu’s Government did not immediately comment on the latest attacks.