Over a hundred people have been kidnapped in two new attacks in northwest Nigeria, just weeks after more than 250 schoolchildren were abducted in the same state.
The kidnappings occurred separately over the weekend in Kajuru, Kaduna state.
According to Ibrahim Gajere, the local government chairman, Gunmen abducted 87 people in Kajuru Station on Sunday night.
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"They went and removed people from their homes at gunpoint," he said.
According to resident Harisu Dari, groups of assailants known as bandits assaulted the village about 10:00 p.m. and went door to door, abducting inhabitants.
A UN source and a former local official, both speaking to AFP anonymously, verified the story.
According to Dari, a UN source and former local official, 16 people were abducted on Saturday in Dogon Noma, which is around 10 kilometers away.
Despite repeated demands for confirmation, Kaduna police and the state's security commissioner did not answer.
Last week, gunmen kidnapped hundreds of civilians from another community in the Kajuru area.
Criminal gangs frequently conduct mass kidnappings in northwest Nigeria, targeting schools, communities, and roads where they can easily abduct a large number of people in exchange for ransom payments.
Earlier this month, gunmen abducted around 250 students from a school in Kuriga village, approximately 150 kilometers from Kajuru district, in one of the most extensive such raids in years.
The recent wave of large-scale abductions is posing a challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government, which has committed to addressing insecurity.
