Insecurity Crisis Worsens with Multiple Kidnappings in Niger, Abuja

Exactly one week after gunmen abducted more than 300 students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, bandits have again unleashed terror—this time in Palaita community, Erena Ward, Shiroro LGA.

At least 24 persons, including a pregnant woman, were kidnapped on Wednesday, while the attackers also severed the hand of a blind man during the invasion. The victims were taken from a rice farm where residents were harvesting their crops.

Residents said the bandits stormed the community around 2:00 p.m., operating freely despite Palaita being barely five kilometres from a military base in Erena. The attackers reportedly fled with the captives before security forces could intervene.

In a separate incident, bandits also invaded an Abuja community, abducting six girls and one boy, further heightening concerns over rising insecurity across the region.