Armed men abducted more than 30 people in three attacks in Kano and Borno states in northern Nigeria over the weekend, as a wave of kidnappings currently grips the country, with more than 400 Nigerians abducted in the past fortnight.

According to a report by experts working for the United Nations and consulted by AFP on Monday, heavily armed criminal gangs, commonly known as "bandits", abducted "at least 25 residents" during two attacks on the villages of Unguwar Tsamiya and Dabawa in Kano State.

Kano, one of the most stable states in the north of the country, is usually spared the mass kidnappings seen in neighboring states, which have long been plagued by serious security problems, with a jihadist insurgency in the northeast and criminal gangs in the northwest and center, carrying out attacks, looting and kidnappings particularly in remote rural areas.

In Borno State, in the northeast, the epicenter of a jihadist insurgency since 2009, nine farmers were abducted by suspected jihadists, said Tijjani Ahmed, a commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), an anti-jihadist self-defense group.

"We discovered that the police forces exchanged fire with the attackers. Unfortunately, the insurgents then managed to abduct nine farmers," he explained, specifying that the attack took place on Sunday night into Monday.

Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have become very frequent in Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok (northeast) by jihadists from the Boko Haram group.

In response to the surge in kidnappings, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a national security emergency on Wednesday and ordered the recruitment of additional security forces.

These latest mass abductions come after Donald Trump's threats of military intervention in Nigeria for what he calls "murders of Christians," accusations still rejected by Africa's most populous country.

Statistics on abductions are difficult to establish, as many cases go unreported.

But in the 12 months from July of last year to June 2025 in Nigeria, at least 4,722 people were kidnapped in 997 incidents, and at least 762 were killed, according to a recent report by security consultancy firm SBM Intelligence.

He specifies that the kidnappers obtained approximately 2.57 billion naira (about $1.66 million) in ransoms.