Armed assailants kidnapped 13 women and a baby in a brazen overnight raid in northeastern Nigeria, highlighting the ongoing security crisis across the region.
The attack occurred in the village of Chacho, Sokoto State, where a bride and 10 of her bridesmaids were seized during a night of celebrations, according to a local resident. Another woman and a baby, along with the baby’s mother, were also abducted, bringing the total to 14 victims.
This incident is the latest in a wave of mass kidnappings that have plagued Nigeria, where both jihadist groups and criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, have carried out repeated attacks on villages.
In Sokoto, the violence has intensified over recent weeks, with local authorities reporting a sharp rise in bandit-led abductions this November, marking the highest level in the past year. Villagers said some of the increase is linked to arrangements struck by neighboring states, which have allowed bandits to regroup and strike areas with lighter military presence.
Chacho village is no stranger to such attacks. Residents reported a similar raid in October, during which 13 people were abducted and ransoms were paid for their release. “We had to pay ransom to secure their freedom. Now we are faced with the same situation,” said one villager, underscoring the cyclical nature of these crimes. The region’s vulnerability is compounded by Nigeria’s struggle to contain both armed criminal gangs and Islamist extremist groups like Boko Haram, which gained global attention after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok.
The attacks have placed further pressure on the Nigerian government, which recently declared a nationwide emergency. US President Donald Trump has weighed in, threatening possible military intervention over the killings of Christians by radical groups. Meanwhile, security experts warn that ongoing negotiations and appeasement deals with bandit groups may be counterproductive, allowing them to entrench themselves and shift attacks to less defended areas, perpetuating the cycle of mass abductions across northwestern Nigeria.
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