Nigeria launches hunt for hundreds of kidnapped mosque worshippers

Nigeria has launched a hunt for hundreds of people kidnapped from mosques in the north of the country.

The military and other security services began the operation on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu ordered a major rescue mission to find an estimated 600 worshippers who were abducted from an area around Dekera village in north-central Niger State last week.

“I have directed the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, and all relevant security and intelligence agencies to launch a coordinated rescue operation immediately for the victims of the recent mass abduction in Niger State,” the Nigerian president wrote on social media late on Tuesday.

Mass kidnappings for ransom have been on the rise in northern Nigeria since the start of the year. The issue has become politically sensitive before a presidential election in January with security likely to be a major campaign issue.

On Sunday, kidnappers released a video of what appears to be a large group of people being held captive by armed men in a forested area.

In the footage posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman can be heard speaking in the Hausa language directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify their relatives.

News agencies could not verify the exact date or location where the video was filmed, but no version of the video has been found posted before Sunday.

An official from the district where Friday’s attacks happened, told the Reuters news agency that 30 people were killed and they were buried on Sunday.