Nigeria: 600 People Kidnapped by Gunmen into the Forests
Gunmen in military uniforms raided four villages and attacked mosques during prayer time. In a video released by the kidnappers on Sunday, many people are seen sitting in the forest with gunmen surrounding them. The president ordered the launch of a rescue operation. The identity of the kidnappers is not yet known, survivors identified them as jihadists linked to ISIS.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered the army, police, and security and intelligence agencies today (Tuesday) to immediately launch a coordinated rescue operation, four days after gunmen raided mosques during Friday prayers in Niger State in north-central Nigeria and kidnapped hundreds of worshippers. According to residents, there are about 600 hostages, and if the number is verified, this is one of the largest mass kidnappings to have occurred in Nigeria in recent years.
The video was published on Sunday on Facebook and WhatsApp, two days after the attack, showing many people sitting in a forested area with gunmen surrounding them, and children crying in the background. One of the gunmen addresses the families of the hostages in the video in the Hausa language, spoken in northern Nigeria, and calls on them to identify their relatives. "All these are your people. We are showing you this video so that you can identify your family members, your fathers, mothers, children, and relatives," he said, without making a ransom demand.
Four residents told Reuters they identified some of the hostages. "The people in the video are from Dakara. I identified 13 people I know," said Ibrahim Abubakar. A local youth leader, who asked not to be identified, told the BBC that he identified several members of his community in the video, including an elderly man "who is like a grandfather to us." According to him, the families who saw their relatives in the video were relieved to know they are alive. "At least they know where their loved ones are and hope they will be rescued, unlike those who still know nothing about their missing persons," he said.
The attack took place on Friday in the Borgu area of Niger State. The gunmen, who were reportedly wearing military uniforms, raided four villages and attacked the mosques during prayer time. A local police spokesperson told the BBC that at least 40 people were killed, but the exact number has not yet been confirmed.
In a statement released by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu condemned the killing and the kidnapping and promised that those responsible would be brought to justice. This is the presidency's first public statement on the matter. "Those who carried out this cowardly attack against defenseless Nigerians are enemies of peace and enemies of humanity, and they will not get away with it," the statement read. "Terror will not deter Nigeria. We will protect our people, our communities, and we will maintain the sanctity of human life," the president added, and ordered the heads of the security establishment to update him regularly on the rescue efforts until everyone is returned.
The identity of the attackers is still unclear. The authorities initially suspected gangs, but survivors of the attack told AFP last week that it is a local jihadist organization, which is believed to be linked to the regional branch of ISIS.
The head of the attacked village told Reuters that at least 2,000 residents fled across the border to neighboring Benin. A representative of the authorities told Reuters in a phone call that they are still trying to verify the number of missing persons. "I don't want to be too speculative about it, because you know how sensitive such information can be," he said.
A local official told the BBC that the attackers planted improvised explosive devices in some of the villages while leading the hostages into the forest, and that a teenager was killed when a device exploded while he was trying to escape. Some of the wounded are hospitalized, including those seriously injured. Earlier this month, the police reported that they had rescued 145 people who had been kidnapped from four other villages in the same area.
Mass kidnappings for ransom have become a common phenomenon in northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where well-armed gangs regularly raid villages, schools, and roads. The kidnappers hold their victims for weeks and even months and demand large sums of money for their release. At the same time, Nigeria has been dealing with a jihadist insurgency for 17 years, centered in the northeast of the country, and in recent years there has been a spread of the activity of gangs and armed organizations far from their traditional strongholds in the north.
Last November, Nigeria was hit by a wave of mass kidnappings, including 25 students from a boarding school in Kebbi State, 315 students and teachers from St. Mary's Catholic School, also in Niger State, and 38 worshippers and a priest who were kidnapped from a church in Kwara State during a ceremony that was broadcast live. The kidnappers then demanded 100 million Naira, about 69 thousand dollars, for each hostage. Following the wave, Tinubu declared a national state of emergency, canceled his trip to the G20 summit, and ordered the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers.
In early November, US President Donald Trump claimed that a "genocide" of Christians is taking place in Nigeria, ordered the Department of War to prepare for possible action, and threatened that if the US attacks, "it will be fast, brutal, and sweet." Nigeria rejected the claims and described them as a "blatant misrepresentation of reality," and an official in the country said that "terrorists attack everyone who rejects their murderous ideology, Muslims, Christians, and those without faith alike."
