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By 247ureports.com
Suspected bandits have abducted dozens of farmers in separate incidents across Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, with the local council chairman putting the toll at 47 and saying the attackers are demanding a total ransom of ₦94 million — ₦2 million per victim.
How the Abduction Happened
The victims, most of them women, were seized on Saturday, September 26, while harvesting groundnuts at Tugan-Rimi in Ma’undu-Beri Ward. Chairman of Mariga LGA, Alhaji Aliyu Bagga Muhammadu, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview, saying the attackers assembled the women working on the farm and took them away, and also seized some men working on nearby farms. Muhammadu described his local government as facing a serious security challenge.
A Birth in Captivity
In a development confirmed Tuesday, Muhammadu said one of the abducted women had given birth while still in the bandits’ custody. Relatives of the victims say they have yet to establish direct contact with their loved ones or receive definite information on their condition and whereabouts.
Security Response and a Wounded Vigilante
According to the chairman, a joint security team of police and local vigilantes engaged the attackers near Alibani village after tracking them through Kasuwan Garba and Biri. A vigilante member was injured in the encounter as the operation continued. Sources said the armed men were also sighted moving between Mangoro and Wamba after reportedly emerging from the Dogon Dawa axis, before moving into Bariki Forest — also known as Ma’undu — where the abducted farmers are suspected to be held.
Conflicting Casualty Figures
The Niger State Police Command has given a lower figure than the council chairman. Police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun said the command received a report on September 28 that more than 20 persons were abducted on September 27 at about 3 p.m. in Mukura village, Kasuwan-Garba District — also within Mariga LGA. The discrepancy between the council’s count of 47 and the police’s count of “over 20” has not been reconciled as of this report. Abiodun said joint security rescue operations remain ongoing to locate and free the victims.
Part of a Wider Pattern
The abduction adds to a grim run of mass-kidnapping incidents in Niger and neighboring states in recent days, including separate attacks in Zamfara State’s Bungudu, Gusau and Maru LGAs that left more than 50 people abducted and roughly 10 vehicles burned over the same weekend.
