An armed group has released a video reportedly showing approximately 600 women, children, and older people who were abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria's north-central Niger State last week. The video, shared on Facebook and WhatsApp, depicts large groups of individuals seated in a forested area, surrounded by armed men, with the sound of crying children audible in the background.
The video surfaced two days after gunmen attacked worshippers at a mosque in Dekara village during Friday prayers, taking people in what residents described as simultaneous raids on several communities. In the footage, a gunman speaking in Hausa urged families to identify their relatives among the captives.
Residents have confirmed the identities of some of those seized. Ibrahim Abubakar stated he identified 13 people he knew from Dekara, while Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi confirmed seeing elders, relatives, wives, and children in the video. Police and state authorities did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, though police had previously confirmed an attack in the area without verifying abduction numbers.
Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in parts of north-western and north-central Nigeria, with armed gangs frequently raiding villages, schools, and highways to demand large sums of money. This violence, previously concentrated in the north, has increasingly moved south.