Mass kidnappings are a standard method for gangs and armed teams to make fast cash in Nigeria.
Printed On 27 Apr 2026
Gunmen have raided an orphanage and kidnapped no less than 23 kids, authorities in Nigeria report.
The gang took the kids late on Sunday from an unregistered facility known as the Dahallukitab Group of Faculties, positioned in an “remoted space” in Kogi State’s capital, Lokoja, Kogi Info Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo mentioned in an announcement on Monday.
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Mass kidnappings have change into a standard method for gangs and armed groups to make fast cash in Africa’s most populous nation, particularly in rural areas with little authorities presence.
Fanwo mentioned the “immediate and coordinated response” of safety businesses led to the rescue of 15 kids however eight are nonetheless lacking.
The spouse of the proprietor of the orphanage was additionally kidnapped, in keeping with the assertion.
“Intensive operations are ongoing to safe the secure return of the remaining eight victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” the official mentioned.
The orphanage was working “illegally” in a distant location with out the information of related authorities and safety businesses, Fanwo added.
The assertion didn’t disclose the ages of the kidnapped kids, nevertheless it referred to them as “pupils”, which in Nigeria often refers to somebody in kindergarten or main faculty, masking ages as much as 12.
No group instantly claimed duty for the assault.
Nigeria faces a number of conflicts from long-running violence by the Boko Haram armed group to “bandit” gangs, farmer-herder violence and southeastern separatists.
The ISIL (ISIS)-linked Lakurawa group additionally operates in communities within the northwestern a part of the nation bordering Niger.
The North Central Zone of Nigeria, the place Kogi is positioned, has seen violent assaults, together with raids on colleges, in current months with among the assaults blamed on armed teams.
Lots of of scholars had been taken by gunmen from their faculty in neighbouring Niger State in November in an assault safety sources blamed on Boko Haram.
