Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped nearly three dozen people across three attacks over the weekend, security sources said Monday, as authorities face renewed scrutiny over mass abductions.

According to a security report prepared for the United Nations and seen by AFP, armed groups known as “bandits” in northwest Nigeria kidnapped “at least 25 residents” in twin assaults on the villages of Unguwar Tsamiya and Dabawa in Kano state.

Kidnappings have been rare in Nigeria’s northern commercial hub.

Separately, in northeastern Borno state, the epicentre of a long-running jihadist insurgency, nine onion farmers were kidnapped by suspected jihadists, militia commander Tijjani Ahmed said.

Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have plagued Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 school girls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.
A spate of kidnappings in recent weeks — involving hundreds of schoolchildren — has prompted the UN to warn of a “surge in mass abductions”.

At the same time, Nigeria is under intense criticism from the United States, which has threatened military intervention over what it calls the mass killing of Christians.

The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject Washington’s framing of the security situation in the country, home to myriad conflicts that kill across ethnic and religious lines.

– Wave of kidnappings –
A wave of attacks in November saw some 400 people kidnapped, including more than 300 schoolchildren in two assaults, according to an AFP tally of major incidents.

Statistics on kidnapping are hard to pin down, with many going unreported.

But in the 12 months between July last year and June 2025, at least 4,722 people were kidnapped in 997 incidents, and at least 762 were killed, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence.

During that period, “Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry”, said the Lagos-based security advisory firm.
It said kidnappers obtained some 2.57 billion naira (around $1.66 million) in ransom.

Motivated by money rather than ideology, bandits conduct kidnappings, extortion and looting in areas that have long suffered from little state or security presence.
Government efforts have tried to strike peace deals with bandits.

Critics say that while such accords have occasionally brought relief, they often result in the bandits keeping their arms and using areas where they have a truce as a base to attack neighbouring localities.

President Bola Tinubu, last November, said the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State and the killing of soldiers in Borno State have left him depressed.

He urged Nigerian communities to support the forces with sharing of information that can save lives and protect children.
“Those who threaten the safety of our citizens will face the full weight of the Nigerian state,” Tinubu said.