Armed group releases video of 600 hostages abducted from mosque in Nigeria

An armed group has posted a video showing what residents said were about 600 women, children and older people abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State last week.

The video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, showed large groups of people seated in a forested area surrounded by armed men. Several children could be heard crying in the background.

Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in parts of north-western and north-central Nigeria, where heavily armed gangs frequently raid villages, schools and highways and hold them until paid large sums of money. The violence was previously focused in the north of the country, but gunmen have increasingly moved south.

The video surfaced two days after the latest kidnapping, when gunmen attacked worshippers at the mosque in Dekara village during Friday prayers, taking people away in what residents said were simultaneous raids on several communities.

In the video, a gunman speaking in Hausa addressed families of the captives and urged them to identify relatives among the people in the footage.

“These are all your people. We are showing you this video so that you can identify your family members, your fathers, mothers, children and relatives,” the gunman said.

Reuters could not verify the exact date or the location where the video was filmed. However, no older version of the video was found posted online before Sunday.

Four residents said they were able to confirm the identities of some of those seized.

“The people in the video are from Dekara. I’ve identified 13 people that I know,” Ibrahim Abubakar said.

Another resident, Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, said those who appeared in the video had been seized during the prayers. “We have identified our elders, relatives, and some of us have seen their wives and children in the video,” he said.

Police and state authorities did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. Police had earlier confirmed an attack on worshippers in the area but said they could not verify the number of people abducted.

Jamilu Ibrahim, another resident, appealed to the federal and state authorities to secure the release of the captives, pointing out the number of mothers with infants and children among those shown in the footage.