Nigerian authorities announced on Tuesday that one hundred civilians kidnapped by armed men from their village in northwestern Nigeria in early June have been released after spending 42 days in captivity. The Zamfara state police stated in a press release that "on June 8, 2021, bandits invaded the village of Manawa and abducted 100 villagers, including women, most of whom were mothers, as well as men and children." The police did not clarify in their statement how the hostages were released after 42 days of captivity, emphasizing that all were "freed without any ransom being paid."
Criminal gangs armed with weapons frequently launch attacks on villages in northwestern Nigeria to loot, steal livestock, and carry out kidnappings for ransom. The military recently deployed new reinforcements in the region, including fighter jets, to end the violence of the "bandits," who have increasingly targeted schools and colleges since the beginning of the year to carry out mass kidnappings of students for ransom. These armed groups are holed up in the Rugu forest that spans the states of Niger, Katsina, Kaduna, and Zamfara.
With every release of hostages, the authorities deny paying any ransom to the kidnappers, but security experts question this, fearing that paying ransoms may encourage more kidnappings in regions already suffering from extreme poverty and insecurity. President Muhammadu Buhari, a former general elected for the first time in 2015, promised to put an end to kidnappings and the activities of criminal gangs in Africa's most populous country.
