Gunmen abduct over 60 worshippers from Nigeria mosque, police say

Armed men abducted more than 60 worshippers from a mosque in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state during Friday prayers, police said on Saturday, in the latest mass kidnapping in a region plagued by violent gangs.

Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said the attackers stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of the Borgu local government area at about 2pm on Friday after first attacking Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages.

“The developing report indicated that no life was lost, while joint security detachment has been deployed to the area for assessment and rescue operations,” Abiodun said in a statement.

A local resident told Reuters the attack appeared co-ordinated and occurred simultaneously in Dekara and three other communities in Borgu while residents were observing Friday prayers. Reuters could not immediately verify the account independently.

Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where heavily armed criminal gangs, locally known as bandits, frequently raid villages, schools and highways.