Key facts
- Villages in Nigeria's north-west are experiencing frequent bandit attacks, leading to widespread fear and displacement.
- Attacks involve indiscriminate shootings, abductions for ransom, and extortion of communities.
- The number of kidnappings across Nigeria has doubled in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
- The violence has displaced an estimated 800,000 Nigerians in the north-west alone.
- Schools have become targets for abductions, with a recent incident in Oyo state involving 39 children and seven teachers.
In Nigeria's north-western Zamfara state, residents like Fatima describe harrowing bandit attacks where fleeing villagers are shot and homes are set ablaze. These raids, often involving hundreds of motorcycles carrying multiple assailants, have become a terrifying reality for communities living in fear of kidnapping for ransom. Fatima recounts losing her husband and six siblings in a June attack on her village, Bia Buki, which killed about 70 people. She is now among an estimated 800,000 Nigerians displaced in the north-west due to escalating violence, primarily perpetrated by gangs known as bandits. These groups, often from the Fulani ethnic group, have increasingly turned to kidnapping as a lucrative enterprise, ambushing travellers and extorting communities for protection money. The violence is spreading southwards, with a recent incident in Oyo state seeing 39 children and seven teachers abducted from three schools. While the Oyo hostages were eventually released, the attacks highlight the pervasive security challenges facing Nigeria, compounded by an Islamist insurgency in the north-east and other regional conflicts. The country's military and police are overstretched, struggling to cope with the multifaceted security threats.