Gunmen abducted nine people in an attack in Nigeria’s Zamfara state Today, Friday, according to locals.
The prevalence of kidnapping for ransom, carried out by armed groups, remains a pressing issue in northwest Nigeria. This alarming trend can be attributed to elevated levels of poverty, widespread unemployment, and the proliferation of illegal firearms in the region.
As of Friday, neither the Zamfara police nor the local government had provided immediate responses to inquiries from Reuters for comment.
According to residents residing in the Tsohuwar Kasuwa community within the Kaura Namoda local government area of the state, the assailants launched a surprise attack on their village during the early hours of the morning, utilizing motorcycles as their means of approach.
Incidents of violence in the northwest are emblematic of the prevailing state of insecurity across Nigeria. This includes a 14-year-long Islamist insurgency in the northeast and ongoing occurrences of gang-related and separatist violence in the southeast.