Nigeria: 58 captives killed despite ransoms paid for release

In Nigeria, kidnappers killed at least 38 people they abducted from a village in northern Zamfara state despite ransoms being paid for their release. Local government chairman Manniru Haidara Kaura said that most of those killed were young people. 56 people were taken from a village in Kauran Namoda area in March. The gunmen had demanded a ransom of one million naira for each captive. 18 people, including 17 women and one young boy were released on Saturday after payment of ransom money.

Sixteen of those released on Saturday are in the hospital receiving treatment, while



the bodies of the 38 killed by the bandits are unlikely to be returned as in these cases corpses are rarely released.

In recent years, criminal gangs in the region have taken to kidnapping people as a means to raise money. In an attempt to curb the spiraling kidnapping industry, a law was enacted in 2022 making it a crime to make ransom payments. It carries a jail sentence of at least 15 years. However no one has ever been arrested on those charges. It also made abduction punishable by death in cases where victims die.