Nigeria: Gunmen abduct 28 people heading to Muslim celebration

Tuesday 23 December 2025 - 08:00

By: Sahili Aya

Nigeria: Gunmen abduct 28 people heading to Muslim celebration

Armed men have abducted 28 people, including women and children, in central Nigeria as they were traveling to attend a Muslim religious celebration, according to a security report consulted on Monday.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening near the village of Zak in Plateau State, when a convoy of worshippers heading to a Maouloud gathering — which marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad — was intercepted. The victims were taken away after their vehicle was stopped. Police have opened an investigation, although local authorities had not issued an immediate statement.

The kidnapping took place on the same day that 130 students were freed in northern Nigeria, the last group from a mass abduction of 250 children seized a month earlier at a Catholic school in Minna. The coincidence has once again highlighted the scale of insecurity facing Africa’s most populous country.

Nigeria has seen a sharp rise in violent attacks and abductions in recent months. While some international voices have framed the violence as religiously motivated, Nigerian authorities and independent analysts reject this interpretation, pointing instead to complex security challenges involving jihadist groups in the northeast and criminal gangs operating mainly in the northwest and central regions.

The United Nations has warned of an increase in mass kidnappings, frequently targeting schoolchildren and civilians traveling to religious or social events. Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative criminal activity, with experts describing it as an organized industry that continues to destabilize communities across the country.