Bandits abduct villagers invited to peace talks in north-west Nigeria

Armed bandits seized dozens of villagers who had been invited to a meeting about possible peace negotiations in north-west Zamfara state. Local police said 39 people were taken on Sunday during a gathering in the forest near Magamin Diddi village in Maradun municipality, though some residents and officials put the figure as high as 50.

Villagers had been meeting relatives of a bandit leader in an effort to bring peace and ease restrictions on the community. Police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said the kingpin arrived with members of his gang and forcefully abducted 39 members of the group to an unknown destination.

The chair of the Maradun local government said state authorities do not support reconciliation with bandits, noting the group had recently blocked all roads to the community market to show anger over the persistent killing of their members by security operatives and questioning why the community chose to meet them.

Nigeria, Zamfara state

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