\n
<\/p>\n
LAGOS: Armed fighters have kidnapped six imams in a northern Nigerian state which has fallen prey to gangs demanding ransoms for release, police said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Kidnappings have become a serious source of revenue for Nigeria\u2019s many armed groups, both for jihadists and non-ideological gangs of criminals locally known as bandits.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, \u201ca group of armed bandits, reportedly wielding sophisticated weapons, laid an ambush along Dakko-Damri feeder road and intercepted a vehicle conveying the victims,\u201d police in the northeastern state of Zamfara said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe six victims, all identified as Imams, were reportedly travelling to Talata Mafara when they were intercepted and abducted by the armed assailants,\u201d the police statement said.<\/p>\n
Nigerian media reported that the imams were to be guests of senator Abdul\u2019aziz Abubakar Yari. The former Zamfara state governor was organising a religious gathering at his Talata Mafara home with an eye to challenging President Bola Tinubu\u2019s bid for re-election in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe security teams have commenced an intensive search operation, with the surrounding bushes being thoroughly combed in an effort to locate and rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators,\u201d the Zamfara police said.<\/p>\n
According to a report by Nigerian consultancy SBM Intelligence published in August, nearly six million dollars in ransom money has been spent in the country over the past year.<\/p>\n
Along with the state of the economy, the insecurity plaguing Africa\u2019s most populous country has dominated the ongoing election campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n