A soldier is seen seated on one of the trucks utilized to transport the girls who were abducted from a boarding school in the northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara, following their release in Zamfara, Nigeria. Reuters File Photo
A group of armed men abducted over 50 women and children during a raid on Kakin Dawa village in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, according to police and local residents. Kidnapping for ransom, carried out by gunmen locally referred to as bandits, is prevalent in northwest Nigeria due to high poverty levels, unemployment, and the widespread availability of illegal firearms. The Zamfara police reported that the incident occurred on Sunday, and additional security forces are being deployed to the area. Residents stated that dozens of attackers, riding motorcycles and armed with assault rifles, arrived in the village around 12:30 GMT and proceeded to kidnap residents from house to house. "Later, we discovered that they kidnapped more than 50 women, including married women and girls," said Hassan Ya'u, who escaped the attack but had his younger sister taken. "We are urging the federal and Zamfara state governments to send more soldiers and security personnel to combat these bandits," he added. Widespread insecurity persists in northwest Nigeria, while a 15-year insurgency continues to affect the northeast, and gang and separatist violence plague the southeast. "We are currently awaiting the kidnappers' demands for the release of the abducted individuals," said Abdulkadir Sadia, another resident of the village. "The entire community is in distress."
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