Gunmen have raided a village in northern Nigeria, abducting 18 people including four mothers and their babies.
The incident happened on Wednesday in Mando Village, Brinin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Brinin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU), in a statement by its chairman, Barrister Salisu Haruna, said properties worth millions of naira were taken away by the gunmen.
He added that the gunmen came on motorcycles, bearing AK47 and shooting sporadically.
The attackers also looted food items from the village.
The statement called on security operatives, particularly the Airforce Field Base in Birnin-Gwari and the government to be more proactive in protecting lives and property.
“After relative calm along Birnin-Gwari-Funtua road after the sustained onslaught by security forces, we regret to inform the general public of an attack at Mando village, a distance of five kilometres from Birnin-Gwari town.
“In the latest incident, armed bandits attacked Mando shortly after midnight around 1:30am and abducted eighteen people, including four nursing mothers,” the statement read.
“The armed bandits did a house-to-house search for grains, other food items and property whose values are yet to be quantified.
“The eighteen people abducted include four nursing mothers with their babies and ten able men.
“We are calling on the security personnel, particularly the Airforce Field Base Birnin-Gwari, that is just three kilometres to Mando, and the governments, to be more proactive in protecting lives and property.
“We equally urged our citizens to assist in reporting suspicious elements and their collaborators.”
It’s not clear who carried out the attack but kidnapping for ransom is rampant across Nigeria – particularly in that region.
Last month gunmen abducted more than 300 schoolboys from their dormitory in neighbouring Katsina state. They were later released following days of negotiations.
Despite the deployment of thousands of troops, criminal gangs continue to carry out attacks in the region.