Gunmen have freed a group of travellers abducted in central Nigeria, ending days of anxious waiting for families bound for a Muslim religious gathering. The victims were seized on December 21 in Plateau state while travelling to a Malud event marking the birth of Prophet Mohammed.
Unidentified attackers abducted 28 people, including women and children, dragging them from their journey into the country’s widening shadow of insecurity. “Last night an official called to tell us our people have been rescued,” said Ibrahim Musa, brother of one victim, speaking to AFP.
Musa said families were now waiting to receive their loved ones from security forces, hoping the long night of fear had finally passed. It remains unclear how the travellers were freed, with authorities silent and persistent suspicions surrounding ransom payments despite their technical illegality.
The abduction followed a wave of mass kidnappings in November that drew international scrutiny to Nigeria’s fragile security landscape. The Plateau case coincided with the release of 130 schoolchildren in neighbouring Niger state, the last held from a Catholic boarding school raid. Nigeria’s conflicts cut across religious lines, yet growing international focus on sectarian killings risks deepening tensions in an already fractured nation.