Tuesday, 19 March 2024 04:53

Gunmen kidnap 100 in fresh attacks on Kaduna communities

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Gunmen have kidnapped around 100 people, including women and children, in two weekend attacks in Kaduna state, residents and police said on Monday.

Kidnappings by criminal gangs demanding ransoms have become an almost daily occurrence in Nigeria, especially in the north, with authorities seemingly powerless to stop them.

Kaduna police spokesperson Mansur Hassan confirmed the incident in Kajuru Station village on Sunday night but could not give a figure on those missing. He said security agents had been deployed to rescue the villagers.

Tanko Wada Sarkin, a village head, said 87 people were taken.

"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," he told Reuters by phone.

Residents said armed men dressed in army uniform arrived in the village undetected because they had parked their motorbikes away from the village.

Aruwa Ya'u, another resident, said he was captured but released by the gunmen because he struggled to walk due to poor health. He was receiving treatment at a local government clinic, he said.

Gunmen are known to force-march their victims deep into the bush, holding them for up to months while awaiting ransom payments.

The abductions come after an armed gang seized 286 students and staff from a school in early March in Kuriga in Kaduna state and gunmen seized 61 people on March 12 in Buda community.

In Dogon Noma, another community in Kajuru local government area, gunmen abducted 16 people from their homes in an attack on Saturday night, residents said.

Local resident Daniel Shamang said they had not heard anything from the abductors or the missing villagers.

Kidnappings at schools in Nigeria were first carried out by jihadist group Boko Haram, who seized more than 200 students from a girls' school in Chibok in Borno state a decade ago.

But the tactic has since been adopted by criminal gangs without any ideological affiliation seeking ransom payments.

The kidnappings are tearing apart families and communities who have to pool their savings to pay the ransoms, often forcing them to sell prized possessions like land, cattle and grain to secure the release of captured loved ones.

 

Reuters

April 03, 2025

Oil prices sink after Trump announced sweeping new tariffs

Oil prices dropped $2 on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on…
April 02, 2025

Natasha outsmarts Kogi govt, Police; ‘drops’ from sky to jubilant crowds

In a spectacular display of defiance, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan turned the Kogi State Government and…
March 30, 2025

Does wearing a cap make you go bald? Here’s what dermatologists want you to know about hair loss

Hair loss can be an upsetting and worrisome experience. But with a slew of wellness…
March 30, 2025

Two 'proof of heaven' stories and one 'proof of hell' that had atheist calling out…

Ole Braatelien What happens to our consciousness the moment we die? Christians believe our souls…
April 02, 2025

Ponzi schemes: New law slams 10-year jail term, N40m fine - SEC

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally declared war on Ponzi schemes, with a…
April 03, 2025

What to know after Day 1134 of Russia-Ukraine war

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive Russia has initiated its…
March 28, 2025

Bill Gates: Within 10 years, AI will replace many doctors and teachers—humans won’t be needed…

Tom Huddleston Jr. Over the next decade, advances in artificial intelligence will mean that humans…
January 08, 2025

NFF appoints new Super Eagles head coach

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.