Gunmen have released a video showing a large group of people being held captive in a forested area of Nigeria. The video surfaced on Sunday, two days after gunmen kidnapped around 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village, located in Niger state, north-central Nigeria.
Residents of Dekera said the gunmen carried out coordinated attacks on several communities and took people away. In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, the sound of crying children can be clearly heard. A gunman speaking in Hausa can be heard asking families of the hostages to identify their relatives.
“These are all your people,” the gunman says in the video. News agencies have not been able to independently verify the exact time and location of the recording, but no earlier version of the video has been found online.
Resident Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi said they recognized some of the hostages in the video: “We recognized the elderly, relatives, and some people saw their wives and children in the video.” Police and state authorities have not yet issued an official response.
Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian government to secure the release of the abducted worshippers, warning of a growing threat from mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria. The state information commissioner, Obed Nana, said a campaign is underway to “assess the situation, track down the perpetrators, and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers.”
Ransom kidnappings have become widespread in many parts of northwest and north-central Nigeria, as armed gangs frequently attack villages, schools, and highways, holding captives until large sums of money are paid. The gunmen are increasingly targeting communities further south, beyond the northern hotspots.
The incident comes as Nigeria prepares for a presidential election in January, with security expected to be a central issue due to a wave of mass ransom kidnappings in the north. President Bola Tinubu is facing growing criticism over the security situation ahead of the vote.
