Kaduna is one of several states in northern and central Nigeria impacted by the gangs, who raid villages, kill and kidnap residents for ransom and loot homes before burning them.
At least nine farmers were killed after armed bandits attacked a village in Kaduna State, northwestern Nigeria. Several other residents were also abducted during the assault, according to a security report obtained by AFP on Sunday and confirmed by a local source.
“Nine bodies have been recovered so far, with six of the victims identified by local authorities,” the report said.
Despite a peace deal reached in November 2024 between local authorities and armed bandits, attacks on farming communities in the agrarian Birnin Gwari district have persisted.
Weeks into the annual rainy season, jihadists and criminal gangs — kidnappers for ransom and cattle thieves known locally as “bandits” — have stepped up attacks on farming communities in northern and central Nigeria that fail to pay the levies they impose.
