Dozens Abducted in Northwest Nigeria After Peace Talks With Bandits

Armed bandits in northwest Nigeria kidnapped dozens of villagers after inviting them to a meeting about possible peace negotiations, according to authorities and local residents on Monday, underscoring the deteriorating security situation in the region.

Police said 39 people were taken on Sunday after traveling to a forest near Magamin Diddi village in the Maradun area of Zamfara State. Some residents and local officials said the number of abductees could be as high as 50.

The Zamfara State Police Command said the victims had gone to meet relatives of a bandit leader in an effort to broker peace and lift restrictions that had limited movement in the community.

Zamfara State has been at the center of a prolonged security crisis involving armed groups known locally as bandits, who have carried out mass kidnappings, killings, and attacks on villages. The violence has disrupted farming activities and forced thousands of people from their homes.

Security forces have been deployed, along with intelligence resources, to locate the kidnapped villagers, police said.

Local residents reported that several people were released to carry ransom demands from the kidnappers back to the village.

Bashar Aliyu, a resident of Magamin Diddi, said the armed group was demanding 125 million naira, about $91,880, for the release of the abductees.

In many affected communities, residents have increasingly negotiated directly with armed groups to gain access to farmland or secure the release of kidnapped people, a practice authorities have discouraged but struggled to stop.

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