Nigeria Launches Hunt for 600 Kidnapped Worshippers After Niger State Mosque Raids
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 25
Nigeria Launches Hunt for 600 Kidnapped Worshippers After Niger State Mosque Raids
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 25
Summary
Military, police and intelligence agencies began a coordinated rescue operation on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu ordered an immediate hunt for about 600 worshippers abducted near Dekera village last week.
A video circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp on Sunday appeared to show a large group of captives in a forest, with children crying as an armed man speaking Hausa told families to identify relatives.
30 people were killed in the attacks and buried on Sunday, a local district official said, while Dekera community leader Abubakar Umar said at least 2,000 residents fled into neighboring Benin.
Amnesty International urged authorities to secure the hostages' release as security experts warned the kidnappers were likely to seek ransom, underscoring a surge in mass abductions before Nigeria's January presidential election.