(Adnkronos) – Over 80 people, mostly women, have been kidnapped by armed gangs in two separate attacks launched on Saturday and Sunday in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs have been carrying out mass kidnappings for ransom for years. On Saturday, at least 47 farmers, including many women, were kidnapped while harvesting peanuts on farms in Rimi, Niger State, and yesterday another 40 women were kidnapped in Yargada, in neighboring Zamfara State, according to two security reports seen by AFP.
Armed men on motorcycles, members of gangs specializing in kidnappings for ransom and cattle rustling, have for years terrorized rural communities in northwestern and central Nigeria, carrying out raids on villages, killing inhabitants, and burning down homes after looting them.
