More than 80 people, mostly women, are missing after being abducted by armed gangs in two separate weekend attacks in northern Nigeria. The attacks occurred in Niger and Zamfara states, with at least 47 farmers abducted on Saturday while harvesting peanuts in Niger state. The kidnappers, locally known as "bandits," are members of gangs specializing in ransom kidnappings and cattle rustling.
The bandits, who often use motorcycles, have been terrorizing rural communities in northwestern and central Nigeria for years. On Sunday, 40 women were kidnapped in the neighboring state of Zamfara, according to security reports. The women were taken from Yargada, in the Gusau area of Zamfara. A local source confirmed the attacks, stating that the kidnapped farmers were taken from their farms in Rimi, an agricultural community in the Mariga area of Niger state.
A security report prepared for humanitarian groups confirmed the attack in Niger state, but did not provide a toll. The report prepared for the UN also confirmed the kidnapping in Zamfara state. A resident of Magama Mairake, Adamu Lawwali, reported that his village and neighboring Maikogo were also hit in the Yargada raid, with bandits burning homes in Magama Mairake.
According to Lawwali and Umar Abdullahi, a Magami resident, the attack was carried out in reprisal after local vigilantes had killed a number of bandits. Both men stated that the actual toll from the kidnapping was likely higher. The kidnappings are part of a larger trend of violence in Nigeria, with jihadists and bandits using kidnapping as a money-making tactic.
Kidnapping has become a key source of income for criminal groups in Africa's most populous nation. Research from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy, found that armed groups raised 7.8 billion naira, nearly $6 million, in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026. This is more than triple the 2.6 billion naira paid during the same period last year.
Security, along with the rising cost of living, is set to be a major issue in January's presidential elections. While the government has touted successes against the country's various armed groups, violence is worsening, according to researchers. The jihadist insurgency is concentrated in the northeast, but attacks have been reported near the western border with Benin.
The violence has led to protests, with communities in Niger state disputing the government's account of a mass kidnapping. Locals put the number of kidnapped individuals at nearly 550, while the governor stated that only a few dozen were taken. The conflict has splintered, with increased activity by local armed groups and militants from the neighboring Sahel.
Key points
- More than 80 people, mostly women, were abducted in two separate weekend attacks in northern Nigeria.
- Kidnapping has become a key source of income for criminal groups in Nigeria, with armed groups raising 7.8 billion naira in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026.
- Security and the rising cost of living are set to be major issues in January's presidential elections, with violence worsening despite government successes against armed groups.
