Nearly 40 children working on farms in northwestern Nigeria were kidnapped by gunmen and held for ransom for their release, police and local officials said Wednesday. Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles stormed a farm outside the village of Mailwa in Katsina state’s Fascari district on Sunday and rounded up his 39 children who were harvesting crops for a fee, police said. said the official.
Katsina is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria who have been terrorized by criminal gangs who raid villages, kill and kidnap residents, and loot and burn homes.
Hostages are usually released after ransom payment to the gangs, who reputedly hole up in the vast Rugu forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger States.
“Bandits invaded a farm in Mairuwa and took away underaged labourers working on the farm,” said Gambo Isah, Katsina police spokesman.
“Our personnel have mobilised to the area with the mission to rescue the hostages and apprehend the criminals,” Isah said, without providing further details.
A Faskari local government official said the bandits rode into the farm on motorbikes as scores of labourers were working.
Gunmen Kidnap Four Farmers, Demand N50m Ransom
“The adult workers who could run much faster managed to escape but 39 children who could not outrun the bandits were caught,” said the official, who asked not to identified for personal safety.
Thirty-three of the hostages, boys and girls, were from Mairuwa village and the other six were from nearby villages, he said.
He said the bandits used the telephone of one of the hostages to make a ransom demand.
The farm manager had previously struck a deal with the bandits, who demanded protection money to let the harvest go ahead and were given a down payment, the official said.
“It is obvious the bandits were angry that work began on the farm without being settled the balance,” the source said.
Faskari, which lies on the border with Zamfara State, faces recurrent threats of kidnapping by bandits crossing into the area from their forest camps, said the official.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has been under pressure to tackle security challenges before he leaves office next year after two four-year terms, the maximum permitted under the constitution.
Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, is grappling with bandit gangs in the north-western and central regions, terrorism in the northeast and separatist agitation in the southeast.
AFP
Follow us on Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.