Dozen Children Kidnapped in Nigeria Abduction

Armed men abducted around a dozen children in central Nigeria, according to local and security sources. The incident occurred near the town of Maigujeri in Rafi district on Saturday.

The children were seized while returning home from a farm where they had been helping their Quranic school teacher harvest maize, sources said. One child was shot and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Min, the state capital.

A security report indicated 18 children were abducted, while a local resident, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the number was closer to 12. Police did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

The kidnapping is the latest in a series of violent attacks by criminal gangs in Niger State. These gangs, known locally as bandits, have intensified raids, abductions, and cattle theft in recent months.

The incident follows a pattern of mass kidnappings in the state, some of which have been linked to jihadist groups operating in northwestern and central Nigeria. At least 47 farmers, including many women, were abducted in September while harvesting groundnuts.

Around 50 children were snatched from a farm in August and later released after a ransom was paid. Over 250 children from a Catholic boarding school in Papiri were abducted last November and freed a month later after a large ransom payment.