At least 52 people, including children, were abducted by armed men during an attack this weekend on a village in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, local sources told AFP on Monday. According to residents, armed men on motorcycles stormed the village of Kasuwar Daji in the Kaura Namoda local government area between Saturday night and Sunday morning, first attacking a military base located on the outskirts of the town.
The assailants seized rifles and set fire to a military patrol vehicle before targeting the village and kidnapping dozens of people, witnesses reported. “Initially, they abducted more than 100 people” before releasing some and ultimately holding 52, explained Shehu Abullahi, whose 12-year-old daughter is among the kidnapped. “The gunmen went from house to house, abducting many people,” another resident, Ahmad Usman, told AFP, confirming the toll. “They took the wives of two of my sons and also took two teenagers from my family,” he added.
An army spokesperson, Olaniyi Osoba, stated that troops had “successfully” repelled the attack on the military base. However, he added that the assailants killed one soldier and one police officer there and “abducted an undetermined number of residents” from the village.
Gangs of “bandits” operate in vast rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where state presence is weak. They are known for levying “taxes” on farmers, stealing livestock, looting villages, and are involved in illegal mining activities. Kidnappings have become a major source of income for armed groups in Nigeria, whether they are jihadists in the northeast or criminal gangs locally dubbed “bandits,” who control a large part of the northwest.
Captured & Published at: 2026-08-04 11:38:38 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
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