Gunmen kidnap at least 52 people, including children, in Nigeria

Gunmen kidnapped at least 52 people, including children, in a weekend attack on a village and military base in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state, Euronews writes.

The attackers seized rifles from the base and set a military patrol vehicle ablaze before raiding the village, where they abducted dozens of people, residents said.

Kidnappings have become a major source of income for armed groups in Nigeria.

Bandit gangs operate across swathes of rural northwest and central Nigeria where state presence is weak.

They are known to levy “taxes” on farmers, rustle livestock, raid villages and are implicated in illegal mining operations.