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Gunmen attacked multiple villages and a mosque in Niger State’s Borgu area during Friday prayers last week prompting President Bola Tinubu to direct the military police and intelligence services to launch a coordinated rescue mission and provide him with regular updates until all victims are accounted for according to a statement from his office. An armed group posted a video showing what residents identified as hundreds of women children and elderly captives in a forested location with one gunman urging families to recognise their relatives Reuters reported. At least 30 people were killed in the assaults on Dekera Gidan Zana and other communities with thousands of residents fleeing into neighbouring Benin while local officials described the raid as one of the largest in recent memory.
SBM Intelligence documented 7825 people kidnapped across Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026 in its latest assessment representing a 66 percent increase from the prior year and resulting in at least 1142 deaths. The consultancy recorded 1411 kidnapping incidents with abductors demanding 22.86 billion naira but collecting 7.78 billion naira equivalent to roughly 5.8 million dollars a figure that more than tripled from the previous period. Northern states accounted for 93.7 percent of victims with Zamfara recording the highest toll at 1921 abducted followed by Sokoto Kaduna and Katsina while mass abductions involving five or more victims made up nearly 80 percent of all cases the report showed.
In Zamfara State survivor Fatima described a June assault on Bia Buki village by hundreds of bandits arriving on about 100 motorcycles where attackers set fire to homes and shot those who fled resulting in around 70 deaths including her husband and six siblings. “If you ran into a room they set the room on fire. If you came out and started running they shot you” Fatima told the BBC from a displacement camp in Gusau where she now lives with her seven children under difficult conditions with scarce food and irregular aid. The United Nations estimates 800000 people have been displaced in the northwest by such violence many of whom have abandoned entire villages that bandits now occupy as bases for further attacks and extortion.
The crisis has expanded southward with gunmen on motorcycles raiding three schools in Oyo State in May abducting 39 children as young as two along with seven teachers one of whom was killed during the incident according to local authorities. All remaining hostages were freed after 56 days through a security operation that avoided ransom payments while traditional ruler Oba Tajudeen Abioye whose niece was among those taken reported widespread fear that has led parents to withdraw children from classes and emptied parts of the community. Researcher Malik Samuel at Good Governance Africa told outlets that no region in northern Nigeria remains untouched by mass abductions a trend confirmed by ACLED data showing a 78 percent increase in banditry incidents in northwest hotspots during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
President Tinubu has maintained a strict policy against paying ransoms or negotiating with kidnappers as demonstrated in the Oyo case where demands included both cash and the release of detained gang members which the government rejected outright he stated during a meeting with traditional rulers. His administration has allocated the largest defence budget in the country’s history with a 10 percent increase for 2026 and approved the recruitment of 28000 additional soldiers while expanding the army from eight to 12 divisions to shorten response times and improve coverage across affected regions Reuters and local reports noted. The president also directed intensified operations following the Niger State incident emphasising that those responsible would face justice and that terror would not cow the nation according to his spokesperson.
Security forces have increasingly relied on government backed vigilante groups to supplement overstretched police and military units in Zamfara and other states though earlier bans on some such groups highlighted risks of extrajudicial actions a 2025 United Nations assessment found. One anonymous vigilante operating in the northwest told the BBC his unit had engaged bandits at least 20 times and called for better arming to deter further attacks noting that reports of abductions arrive almost weekly. These measures coincide with broader challenges including 19 million children out of school nationwide per UNESCO data many of whom have been pulled from classes due to targeted raids on educational facilities that disrupt learning and community stability.
