Nigeria: Gunmen Kidnap 100 People in New Attacks

Facts

• Gunmen attacked two villages in northwest Nigeria over the weekend and kidnapped about 100 people, including women and children. Security forces were deployed to rescue the Kajuru villagers, local police said.¹
• The abductions occurred in Kaduna state’s Kajuru council area, with 14 women abducted from the Dogon Noma community early Saturday, and 87 people taken from the Kajuru-Station community on Sunday night, local officials said.²
• Last week, dozens were kidnapped from Kuriga district, following the abduction of 250 students from a school in the village of Kuriga earlier this month. According to analysts, the security situation has hardly improved since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office in 2023.³
• Nigerian authorities often negotiate with kidnappers to free hostages, though a 2022 law has banned giving money to kidnappers, while authorities deny any ransoms are paid. According to Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence, 4,777 people have been kidnapped since last year.⁴
• Abductions have been common in Nigeria since the 2014 kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state's Chibok village by the Islamic Extremist group Boko Haram. The violence displaced about 1M people, according to the UN.⁴
• Local bandit gangs have been blamed for recent mass kidnappings and killings in the central and northwestern regions of Nigeria. Most of the bandits are said to have previously been herders in conflict with local communities.⁵

Sources: ¹www.reuters.com, ²Associated Press, ³France 24, ⁴Al Jazeera and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. President Tinubu and his administration have failed Nigeria. Although he pledged to address the violence in the country, kidnappings have continued, even becoming a weekly occurrence. Instead of negotiating with these kidnappers in order to ensure the safe return of these civilians, many of whom are women and children, the President has instituted an ineffective ban on ransom payments.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The Nigerian government is doing all it can to ensure the safe release of all those abducted from the northwestern regions of the country. While the kidnappers are seeking ransoms, such payments would do nothing but incentivize future abductions. Security forces and government authorities will work hard to make sure all those taken can return home.

Predictions