Gunmen Abduct 12 Children Returning From Farm in Niger State, One Shot

Armed men have kidnapped about a dozen children in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State after intercepting them while they were returning from a farm, according to local and security sources.

The children were abducted on Saturday near Maigujeri by gunmen riding motorcycles, who reportedly seized them as they returned from a farm where they had been helping their schoolteacher harvest maize.

Reports of the number of abducted children remain conflicting. A security report obtained by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) put the figure at 18, while a local resident, Mohammed Abdullahi, estimated that about 12 children were taken.

Abdullahi said one of the children was shot during the incident and was receiving treatment at a hospital in Minna, the Niger State capital.

“They were kidnapped on their way back home from their teacher’s farm,” he said.

The latest abduction comes amid renewed attacks by armed criminal gangs, popularly known as bandits, who have intensified kidnappings, raids and cattle rustling in parts of Niger State in recent months.

The state has witnessed several mass abductions targeting farmers and children. In September 2026, at least 47 farmers, many of them women, were reportedly kidnapped while harvesting groundnuts.

Similarly, about 50 children were abducted from a farm in August and later released after a ransom was paid.

In another major incident, more than 250 pupils from a Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, were kidnapped in November 2025. They were released about a month later following a large ransom payment.

Some of the criminal gangs responsible for attacks in northwestern and central Nigeria have reportedly established links with terrorist groups operating in the regions.