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Bandits have released 48 children kidnapped in Niger State three weeks ago after a ransom was reportedly paid, according to a traditional ruler and a United Nations (UN) source.
“Forty children were released last night, and the remaining eight were released today after we paid ransom,” Abdullahi Sahonrami, a traditional chief in Niger State’s Mashegu district, told AFP on Wednesday.
At least 54 children, aged between seven and 12, were abducted on August 5 while harvesting groundnuts on a farm outside Sabon Rijiya village in Niger State.
The children were initially held for three days in a bandit camp in the nearby Zugurma Game Reserve. The first gang later released them without demanding a ransom, Sahonrami said.
However, the children were reportedly accosted on their way home by another gang loyal to Dogo Gide, a notorious bandit kingpin with links to the Ansaru group.
A UN source confirmed that 48 children had been released.
“A girl died in the hands of the first gang and five escaped while being taken by the second gang, leaving 48 in captivity,” the source said.
The latest incident mirrors the complex relationship between criminal bandit groups and terrorist factions operating across parts of northern Nigeria.
Although bandits are primarily driven by financial motives, some groups have established ties with terrorists.
The groups have at times collaborated but have also clashed over territory and control of criminal networks.
Niger State has experienced growing insecurity as armed groups establish camps in forests and game reserves across the mineral-rich and largely agricultural state.
The vast forests provide cover for kidnapping gangs, while limited government presence in some rural communities has made it difficult for security forces to prevent attacks and rescue victims.
Several armed groups are also reported to operate camps around Kainji National Park and the Zugurma Game Reserve, using the expansive forests as hideouts and holding areas for kidnapping victims.
