A criminal group has kidnapped 39 children working on a farm in northwestern Nigeria for ransom, police and a local official said on Wednesday. Armed gangs, known locally as “bandits”, terrorize the northwestern and central states of Africa’s most populous country, looting, kidnapping and killing villagers.
“The bandits invaded the Mairuwa farm and took away the underage workers,” said Gambo Isah, a spokesman for the Katsina police.
“Our agents have been mobilized in the area with the mission of rescuing the hostages and apprehending the criminals,” added Gambo Isah, without giving further details.
The country plagued by jihadist groups
A local official from the Faskari district, in which the town of Mairuwa is located, said there were dozens of workers in total.
“The adult workers, who could run much faster, managed to escape, but the 39 children, who could not escape from the bandits, were captured,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
Faskari district, located on the border with Zamfara state, lives under recurring threats of kidnapping by bandits, according to this source. In addition to bandits, Nigeria, which has a population of almost 215 million, is also plagued by jihadist groups in the northeast and separatist unrest in the southeast.
Source: BFM TV
