Kidnappers Release Video of Abducted Worshippers as Niger State Mass Kidnapping Sparks Fresh Security Concerns

Kidnappers have released a video showing a large group of people held captive in a forested location, days after gunmen reportedly abducted hundreds of worshippers during Friday prayers in Niger State.

The video, which was circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp, shows children among the captives while an armed man speaking Hausa addresses the families of those abducted.

The gunman reportedly urged families to identify their relatives among the captives.

Residents of Dekera village, where the incident occurred, said they had identified some of their relatives in the footage.

One resident, Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, said some community members had recognised elders, relatives, women and children among those shown in the video.

However, the exact date and location where the video was recorded could not be independently verified.

The development followed reports that gunmen abducted as many as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Niger State.

Residents said the attackers also carried out simultaneous raids on several surrounding communities, taking people away.

The Niger State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Obed Nana, told the Anadolu news agency that an operation was underway to assess the situation, track the attackers and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers.

Police and state authorities had not responded to requests for further comment at the time of the report.

Amnesty calls for immediate action

Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the abducted worshippers, warning of the growing threat posed by mass abductions in northern Nigeria.

The latest incident has renewed concerns over the spread of mass kidnapping across northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where armed groups frequently target villages, schools, highways and places of worship.

The attackers often demand large sums of money in exchange for the release of their victims.

Security concerns have also increasingly extended beyond traditional kidnapping hotspots in northern Nigeria, with criminal groups carrying out attacks farther south.

The mass abduction comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity as Nigeria prepares for its next presidential election, with security expected to remain a major national issue.

Authorities are now under pressure to locate the abducted worshippers, track the perpetrators and prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities.