Gunmen in Nigeria's Zamfara abduct over 100 in deadly attack

Gunmen killed at least two people and abducted over 100 others, mostly women and children, in an attack on Nigeria's Zamfara State, local officials and community leaders said on Wednesday.

Zamfara often witnesses attacks by armed men, known locally as bandits, in northwest Nigeria, where gunmen have made travel and farming dangerous. Between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 4,722 people were abducted, according to SBM Intelligence.

The attackers stormed the village of Gamdum Mallam in Adafka, Bukkuyum, around midday on Saturday, riding dozens of motorbikes and firing indiscriminately, according to village head Muhammadu Mai Anguwa. "They killed and kidnapped many women and children, and took them towards Makakari forest," he told Reuters.

Huzaifa Isa, a resident of Gamdum Mallam, said the assailants split into two groups. "One group was kidnapping people and livestock, while the other set up a roadblock at Adafka's main entrance, shooting at anyone who tried to pass," he said.