By Samuel Nworah
Armed men have abducted at least a dozen children in Niger State after intercepting them as they returned from a farm where they had been helping their Quranic school teacher harvest maize.
The incident occurred on Saturday near Maigujeri in Rafi Local Government Area, according to local and security sources cited by the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The children were reportedly travelling home from the farm when gunmen riding motorcycles attacked and took them away.
There is some uncertainty over the exact number of victims.
A security report seen by AFP put the number of abducted children at 18, while a local resident, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the number was closer to 12.
Abdullahi also told AFP that one child was shot during the attack and was receiving treatment at a hospital in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Our correspondent who monitored the news reports that, Daily Trust separately reported that a person who attempted to escape was shot and taken to the IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna, although details about the identity of the victim differ between accounts.
The attack adds to growing concerns over the safety of children and rural communities in Niger State, which has experienced repeated raids and mass abductions by armed criminal groups commonly referred to as bandits.
The latest incident follows several other kidnappings in the state.
According to AFP, at least 47 farmers were abducted in September while harvesting groundnuts, while around 50 children were kidnapped from a farm in August and later released after a ransom was reportedly paid.
Niger State has also suffered some of the country’s most serious mass school abductions in recent years.
More than 250 children were abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Papiri in November 2025 and were released about a month later.
The latest kidnapping highlights the continuing vulnerability of farming communities and children in parts of central and northwestern Nigeria, where armed groups have continued to carry out raids, abductions and other criminal activities.
Police had not responded to AFP’s requests for comment at the time of its report. The circumstances surrounding the latest abduction, including the precise number of victims and the status of efforts to secure their release, therefore remain subject to further official confirmation.
