Police reported Sunday that gunmen kidnapped 19 Muslim worshipers after assaulting a mosque in Nigeria's restive northwest.

According to local police spokesperson Gambo Isah, the gunmen attacked the mosque in Maigamji village, Katsina state, during evening prayers Saturday and carried out the kidnappings after shooting and wounded the imam and another worshipper.

"Our troops mobilized and went after the robbers, liberating six of the worshipers from their abductors, while efforts to release the remaining 13 are ongoing," he said.

He stated that the two injured victims were being treated in a hospital. 

Bandits, or criminal bands, have terrorized Northwest and Central Nigeria, raiding communities and stealing cattle, kidnapping for ransom, and burning homes after taking supplies.

Hostages are frequently freed when a ransom is paid to the gangs that hide out in the enormous Rugu Forest. It cuts across four northwest Nigerian states, including Katsina.

According to officials, 15 people were killed and numerous more were injured in a series of bandit raids on communities in neighboring Kaduna state last month.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been under enormous pressure to put a stop to the bloodshed before his eight-year tenure expires next year. There is rising alarm about a northeast alliance between bandits and jihadists fighting a 12-year war to build a caliphate.

 

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© Photo Credits : The African Mirror

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