Nigeria launches hunt for hundreds of kidnapped mosque worshippers

Nigeria has launched a hunt for hundreds of people kidnapped from mosques in the north of the country.

The military and other security services began the operation on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu ordered a major rescue mission to find an estimated 600 worshippers who were abducted from an area around Dekera village in north-central Niger State last week.

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“I have directed the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, and all relevant security and intelligence agencies to launch a coordinated rescue operation immediately for the victims of the recent mass abduction in Niger State,” the Nigerian president wrote on social media late on Tuesday.

Mass kidnappings for ransom have been on the rise in northern Nigeria since the start of the year. The issue has become politically sensitive before a presidential election in January with security likely to be a major campaign issue.

On Sunday, kidnappers released a video of what appears to be a large group of people being held captive by armed men in a forested area.

In the footage posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman can be heard speaking in the Hausa language directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify their relatives.

News agencies could not verify the exact date or location where the video was filmed, but no version of the video has been found posted before Sunday.

An official from the district where Friday’s attacks happened, told the Reuters news agency that 30 people were killed and they were buried on Sunday.

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

In its first public statement on the incident, the Nigerian presidency condemned the “cowardly attack on defenceless Nigerians” and pledged that those responsible would be brought to justice.

“You are not alone,” Tinubu wrote, addressing the families of those killed and kidnapped. “The entire nation shares your anguish. We will not rest until your sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are brought back safely to you.”

Abubakar Umar, head of the Dekera community, told Reuters that at least 2,000 people fled into neighbouring Benin after the ⁠attacks.

Northwest Nigeria has long been a transit zone for arms and gunmen crossing through West Africa. Alongside neighbouring Niger, Chad and Benin, the area is increasingly the site of Boko Haram and ISIL (ISIS) attacks.

Kabir Adamu, an Abuja-based security expert, told Reuters it was not possible to say who was responsible for the mass abductions but he expected the gunmen who released the video to reach out and demand a ransom.

The kidnapping, ⁠which took place in broad daylight, showed how ineffective security operations in Nigeria have been, he said.

However, “terror will not cow Nigeria,” the Nigerian president insisted.

“We will defend our people, protect our communities, and uphold the sanctity of human life,” Tinubu said, noting he had directed the country’s security chiefs to give him regular briefings on the rescue operation’s progress “until all those abducted are accounted for”.

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