Unidentified bandits abducted 120 people including women and children after a raid at four villages in northwestern Nigeria on Sunday, 20 November.
Violence and kidnapping are widespread in northern regions of Nigeria. Roving gangs of armed men seize people from farms and villages to extract ransom money from their relatives.
More than 40 people were taken from Kanwa village, and 37 were abducted from Kwabre village, said local sources of the targeted area. An additional 38 people were kidnapped working on their farms near Yankaba and Gidan Goga villages.
The resident who disclosed the information shared about the attack in Kanwa. They said, “Kanwa village is deserted. The bandits divided themselves into two groups and attacked the community. They kidnapped children aged 14 to 16 and women.”
Nigeria has dealt with significant internal violence for years at the hands of several entities, including Boko Haram, radicalized Islamic Fulani herdsmen, and localized gang violence.