More than 80 people, mostly women, were missing on Monday after being abducted by armed gangs in two separate weekend attacks in northern Nigeria.
On Saturday, at least 47 farmers were abducted by armed men while harvesting peanuts in Niger state, and on Sunday, 40 women were kidnapped in the neighbouring state of Zamfara, according to two security reports seen by AFP and a local source.
Bandits regularly carry out raids on villages, killing residents and torching homes after looting them.
Terrorists in Nigeria also use kidnapping as a money-making tactic and have at times collaborated with bandit gangs, although the latter are motivated by money more than ideology, sometimes leading to clashes between the groups.
Most victims of recent kidnappings are women
A local source said the 47 farmers, most of them women, were taken from their farms in Rimi, an agricultural community in the Mariga area of Niger state.
A security report prepared for humanitarian groups and seen by AFP confirmed the attack, without giving a toll.
The women kidnapped on Sunday were taken from Yargada, in the Gusau area of Zamfara, according to a security report prepared for the UN and seen by AFP.
According to research from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy, armed groups raised some 7.8 billion naira (nearly $6 million) in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026, more than triple the 2.6 billion naira paid during the same period last year.
