Armed men have kidnapped 28 people travelling to an annual Islamic gathering in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, local sources say.
The passengers — including women and children — were ambushed on Sunday night while travelling by bus between villages, according to accounts from the area.
A journalist based in Plateau state said families of those taken have begun receiving ransom demands. The attackers have not been identified, and authorities have not yet issued an official statement.
The abductions come a day after Nigerian officials said the remaining 130 pupils and teachers seized in a separate mass kidnapping at a Catholic boarding school in Niger state last month had been released.
Kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs — widely referred to locally as bandits — has become a persistent security threat across parts of northern and central Nigeria. Although paying ransom is illegal, many cases are believed to be settled through payments, which gangs use to finance their operations.
Residents and analysts say the Plateau incident is not linked to the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria’s north-east, where jihadist groups have fought government forces for more than a decade.
Nigeria’s security crisis drew renewed international attention in November after US President Donald Trump threatened to send troops to what he called a “disgraced country,” alleging Christians were being targeted. Nigeria’s government has acknowledged worsening insecurity but rejects claims that Christians are being singled out.
On Monday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said recent tensions with Washington over insecurity and allegations of religious persecution had been “largely resolved,” and argued ties with the United States were improving.
He also said the government plans to deploy trained forest guards to help secure remote areas and forests often used as hideouts by criminal groups, in support of ongoing military operations.