By Adelowo Oladipo, Minna
No fewer than 47 persons, the majority of them women, have been abducted by suspected armed bandits while harvesting groundnuts at Tungan Rimi community in Maundu-Beri Ward of Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.
Sources said the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 2026, when the victims were working on farms in the area. The abductors reportedly took the women and other persons working on nearby farms to an unknown destination.
The Chairman of Mariga Local Government Council, Alhaji Aliyu Bagga Muhamadu, confirmed the abduction in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Minna.
He said, “47 persons were abducted, and a report reaching me indicated that one of the women abductees had given birth while in the custody of the abductors.”
Muhamadu further disclosed that the kidnappers had contacted the victims’ relatives and demanded a ransom of N2 million for each abducted person before their release.
According to him, military personnel and local vigilantes had been mobilised to track the abductors and secure the safe release of the victims.
He added that the joint security team had moved through Kasuwan Garba and Biri and engaged the suspected bandits around Alibani village, during which one vigilante was injured.
Further checks indicated that the armed men were reportedly sighted moving through areas between Mangoro and Wamba after allegedly emerging from the Dogon Dawa axis.
The attackers were also said to have moved into the Bariki Forest, also known as Ma’undu, where the abducted persons were suspected to have been taken.
Some relatives of the victims reportedly said they had yet to establish direct contact with their loved ones or receive definitive information about their whereabouts.
However, sources said available information suggested that the victims might be held within the Ma’undu forest.
The kidnappers are reportedly demanding N2 million for the release of each victim in their custody.
When contacted, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident.
Abiodun said a report received on Monday, September 28, indicated that suspected bandits had abducted more than 20 persons at Mukura village in the Kasuwan-Garba District of Mariga LGA, at about 3pm on Sunday, September 27.
“Joint security rescue efforts are ongoing,” he stated.
