Gunmen in Nigeria fatally shot eight individuals on Sunday and kidnapped at least 60 more in separate attacks within two communities in the northwest region of Zamfara state.
These incidents occurred just two days after armed men abducted numerous individuals from a university in the same state.
In northeastern Nigeria, suspected Islamist insurgents ambushed a convoy of vehicles escorted by the military, resulting in the tragic deaths of two soldiers and four civilians, according to reports from a police source and an eyewitness. During the attack, the assailants also set five vehicles ablaze and made off with one truck, as reported by Reuters.
President Bola Tinubu has yet to outline his strategy for addressing the pervasive insecurity in Nigeria, even as his economic reforms, such as removing a costly fuel subsidy and the liberalization of the naira currency, have raised the cost of living and generated public dissatisfaction.
In a related development, on Sunday, gunmen made an unsuccessful attempt to attack an army base in the rural Magami community of Zamfara, a state severely affected by the scourge of kidnapping for ransom perpetrated by local criminal groups known as “bandits.”
Gunmen, operating in three separate groups, launched coordinated attacks on an army base and the neighbouring communities of Magami and Kabasa, according to an unnamed local traditional leader citing security concerns. According to Reuters, the report states that 60 individuals, predominantly women and children, were abducted during these incidents.
Shuaibu Haruna, a resident of Magami, described the assailants as heavily armed individuals riding numerous motorcycles, firing their guns and other weapons indiscriminately during the attack,” as reported to Reuters via telephone.
The attack resulted in four confirmed casualties, with four fatalities and several abductions reported by Isa Mohd from Kabasa.
These incidents reflect Nigeria’s broader security challenges, including ongoing Islamist attacks in the northeast, assaults by criminal groups and separatists in the southeast, and persistent conflicts between farmers and herders, all contributing to the loss of life.
