HUMAN REMAINS FOUND AS NIGERIAN POLICE INVESTIGATE MASS ABDUCTIONS OF 80+

Tue 29 September 2026:

Armed gangs abduct farmers and women in Niger and Zamfara as police recover 28 skulls and bones in Abia forests

At least 87 people, most of them women, have been reported missing after separate attacks by armed gangs in northern Nigeria, according to reports by AFP citing security sources and local officials.

In Niger State, 47 farmers were reportedly abducted by armed men while harvesting peanuts in the Mariga area on Saturday.

A separate attack in neighbouring Zamfara State on Sunday saw 40 women kidnapped in the Yargada area, according to two security reports and a local source cited by AFP.

The latest incidents add to a growing pattern of mass abductions carried out by criminal groups operating across Nigeria’s northwestern and north-central regions.

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Human remains found in Abia

In a separate development, police in southeastern Abia State said they had discovered 28 human skulls and bones believed to be connected to kidnapping victims.

The remains were found during raids on forest camps allegedly used by criminal groups.

Police said suspects at the locations fled before officers could arrest them.

In a statement posted on X, authorities said “efforts are intensified to apprehend the fleeing suspects”.

Police described the remains as ”suspected to be [of kidnapped] victims”, although authorities have not yet publicly identified the victims or established when they died.

‘Bandits’ drive ransom kidnappings

The latest abductions are part of a wider security crisis involving armed groups commonly known in Nigeria as “bandits”.

These criminal gangs frequently raid rural communities, abduct people for ransom and steal livestock. Some attacks have also involved killings, looting and the destruction of homes.

Kidnapping for ransom has become particularly prevalent in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where large groups of victims can be held for extended periods while negotiations over payments take place.

In August, gunmen reportedly abducted as many as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Niger State.

Ransom payments surge

The scale of the kidnapping economy has also increased.

Research by Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence estimated that armed groups collected about 7.8 billion naira, equivalent to nearly $6 million, in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026.

That figure was more than three times the estimated 2.6 billion naira paid in ransom during the same period a year earlier.

The increase highlights the financial incentives sustaining kidnapping networks despite repeated military and police operations against them.

Security emerges as election issue

The latest attacks come months before Nigeria’s presidential elections, with insecurity expected to be one of the major issues alongside the rising cost of living.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has faced increasing criticism over its handling of the country’s security problems.

In Niger State, residents recently staged protests over the abduction of hundreds of people who they said remained in captivity weeks after armed groups attacked several communities.

The incidents underscore the continuing challenge facing Nigerian authorities as armed gangs exploit remote rural areas, target communities with limited security protection and use kidnapping as a source of revenue.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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