Gunmen kidnapped at least 87 persons in a sneak attack on a Nigerian village located in Kaduna province, a local village leader told Reuters on Monday.
Women and children are counted among those kidnapped, Reuters reported. (RELATED: Illegal Mining Explosion Utterly Flattens Multiple Buildings, Injuring Dozens)
Kaduna police spokesperson Mansur Hassan admitted that kidnappings by this armed gang took place but could not provide the outlet with an exact figure of those taken. Hassan added that security forces were sent to the scene to rescue inhabitants, Reuters reported.
“We have so far recorded the return of five people back home who fled through the bush. This attack makes it five times that these bandits are attacking this community,” Tanko Wada Sarkin, a leader in the village, told Reuters in a phone call.
Residents say they were taken by surprise because the gunmen were dressed in military uniforms and had parked their motorbikes away from the village, Reuters reported. “We were outside our homes chatting around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) and suddenly bandits appeared, beating and shooting,” Haruna Atiku told the outlet. Atiku’s wife and two daughters were reportedly kidnapped.
A general view of writing on a wall outside a classroom at Kuriga school in Kuririga on March 8, 2024, where more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen. Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 8, 2024 sent troops to rescue more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen from a school in the country’s northwest in one of the largest mass abductions in three years. The Kaduna state attack was the second mass kidnapping in a week in Africa’s most populous state, where heavily armed criminal gangs on motorbikes target victims in villages and schools and along highways in the hunt for ransom payments. Local government officials in Kaduna State confirmed the kidnapping attack on Kuriga school on March 7, 2024, but they have still not given figures as they said they were still working out how many children had been abducted. (Photo by HAIDAR UMAR/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view of Kuriga school in Kuririga on March 8, 2024, where more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen. (Photo by HAIDAR UMAR/AFP via Getty Images)
This video grab taken from an AFPTV video on March 7, 2024 shows families of abducted pupils gathering during the visit of the Kaduna State governor Uba Sani after gunmen kidnapped over 280 from a school in Kuriga. Gunmen have kidnapped more than 200 pupils during a raid on a school in northwest Nigeria, a teacher and local residents said, in one of the country’s largest mass abductions. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Africa’s most populous country, where heavily armed criminal gangs have targeted schools and colleges in the past, especially in the northwest, though such attacks have abated recently. Local government officials in Kaduna State confirmed the kidnapping attack on Kuriga school on March 7, 2024, but gave no figures as they said they were still working out how many children had been abducted. (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view of Kuriga school in Kuririga on March 8, 2024, where more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen. (Photo by HAIDAR UMAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Kidnapping in northern Nigeria has become frighteningly commonplace as gunmen seek ransom payments for those they take captive, Reuters reported. A group of armed men abducted 227 children from a school in the Kaduna province back in March 8 alone, according to Reuters. Authorities posited that the abductions could have been the work of Ansaru, a Boko Haram affiliated group, the BBC reported.
The lawlessness and spate of kidnappings prompted Gen. Christopher Musa, Chief of Nigeria’s Defense Staff, to visit Kaduna Monday and pledge that the military would restore order and find the perpetrators, TVC News reported.
Precious Joseph (L), one of the 28 students of Bethel Baptist High School who have been released by their kidnappers is seen with his mother Esther Joseph at Wilbasun Hospital and Maternity in Kaduna on July 26, 2021. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Bennice John Bivan (11), one of the 28 students of Bethel Baptist High School who have been released by their kidnappers is seen with her mother Rahila John Bivan at Wilbasun Hospital and Maternity in Kaduna on July 26, 2021. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – A mother hugs her daughter on July 25, 2021 after she was released together with other 27 students of the Bethel Baptist High School. Gunmen who seized 121 students at a high school in northwestern Nigeria in early July have released 28 of them, a school official told AFP on Sunday. The attackers stormed Bethel Baptist High School in northwestern Kaduna state on July 5, abducting students who were sleeping in their dorms. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – A father is seen next to his daughter on July 25, 2021 after she was released together with other 27 students of the Bethel Baptist High School. Gunmen who seized 121 students at a high school in northwestern Nigeria in early July have released 28 of them, a school official told AFP on Sunday. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
The outlet posted a video of Musa’s speech on Twitter.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa Visits Kaduna State, Pledges Improved Securityhttps://t.co/Vn6KHgOpTN pic.twitter.com/L4HnejDaxN
— TVC News (@tvcnewsng) March 18, 2024
“I felt it was necessary for me to come and be with — my state and my people so that we know we are together. Whatever it is they are going through, we are also going through the same,” Gen. Musa said. The general added that “more troops” were arriving and that “more action” was being taken to bring those who have been kidnapped back to their families.