Gunmen - The African Mirror

Apr

2023

Nigerian students escape abductors two weeks after kidnapping

EIGHT Nigerian secondary school students kidnapped by gunmen in northern Kaduna state two weeks ago escaped from their captors and were found by villagers who alerted security forces, the state's internal security commissioner said. Armed gangs operating mostly in remote parts of northwest Nigeria have carried out violent attacks against villagers, schools and motorists, abducting hundreds for ransom. The female students were seized by an armed gang on their way from school along with an unknown number of others, authorities said on April 4. Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna commissioner for internal security and home affairs, said the students escaped from a forest between…

Apr

2023

By DANIEL BECERRIL

Gunmen storm Mexican resort, kill seven people, including child

WORLD

ARMED men killed a child and six others after storming a resort in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, authorities said, in a region increasingly plagued by drug cartel violence. Footage widely shared on social media showed the aftermath of the attack in a palm-studded resort in the small town of Cortazar, about 65 km (40 miles) south of Guanajuato city. It was not clear who was behind the shooting that killed the seven-year-old, three men and three women, Cortazar's local security department said. One person was seriously injured in the La Palma resort. But in recent years rival drug…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kidnap 80, including children, in northwest Nigeria

NEWS

ARDO HAZZAD GUNMEN abducted at least 80 people, mostly women and children, in Nigeria's Zamfara state, a hotspot for kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs targeting remote villages, residents said. Gangs of armed men have attacked hundreds of local communities across northwestern Nigeria in recent years, while Islamist militants continue to stage attacks in the northeast. The latest kidnapping took place on Friday in Wanzamai village in Tsafe local government area in Zamfara, three residents said. Zamfara is one of the states most affected by kidnappings. Musa Usman, whose 14-year-old son Ibrahim was among those abducted, said children and women…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Gunmen in Nigeria seize eight students in latest kidnapping

NEWS

ARDO HAZZAD GUNMEN in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state kidnapped eight secondary school students coming from school along with an unknown number of others, authorities said, the latest in a wave of such abductions. Armed gangs operating mostly in remote parts of northwest Nigeria have carried out violent attacks against villagers, schools and motorists, abducting hundreds for ransom. Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security in Kaduna, said gunmen on Monday seized eight students from Awon Government Secondary School in Kachia local government area. The gang had earlier kidnapped the other people. It was not immediately clear where the students were…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso assailants kill at least 15 Nigerian pilgrims travelling to Senegal

NEWS

AT least 15 Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Senegal were killed when gunmen in Burkina Faso attacked the buses transporting them, Nigeria's presidency said. "President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder," the State House said in a statement without providing a number of casualties or further details on the attack. A Nigerian presidency spokesperson told Reuters via a WhatsApp message that the death toll stood at 15 "so far". According to a Senegalese religious order, unidentified assailants attacked the convoy of buses on Wednesday and killed 18 passengers. The pilgrims were on their way…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa: Eight killed in shooting at birthday party

NEWS

GUNMEN killed eight people and wounded three others at a birthday party in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, police said, adding that a manhunt was underway to find the killers. The mass shooting was carried out by two attackers and occurred between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. (1515 and 1530 GMT) on Sunday at a house in Kwazakele, Gqeberha, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement. The gunmen fled after the attack, and no arrests have been made, the police said. Investigations into the circumstances and possible motives for the attack were ongoing. Police have not named the…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Catholic priest burned to death in Nigeria

NEWS

GUNMEN burned a Catholic priest to death and shot and injured his colleague in northwest Nigeria, police said, the latest violence raising concerns about security ahead of an election next month. Nigerians will vote for a new president on February 25 but kidnappings for ransom and killings by armed gangs in the north have led to fears that polls may not be held in some areas. The motive for the latest attack was not immediately clear but gunmen have previously targeted priests in the largely Muslim north. Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson for Niger state, said in a statement that armed…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kidnap 32 people from Nigeria train station

NEWS

TIFE OWOLABI GUNMEN armed with AK-47 rifles have abducted more than 30 people from a train station in Nigeria's southern Edo state, the governor's office said on has announced. The attack is the latest example of the growing insecurity that has spread to nearly every corner of Africa's most populous country, posing a challenge to the government in advance of a February presidential election. Police said in a statement that armed herdsmen had attacked Tom Ikimi station at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) as passengers awaited a train to Warri, an oil hub in nearby Delta state. The station is some…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigeria, at least 11 killed, residents say

NEWS

GUNMEN in Nigeria kidnapped at least 80 people and killed 11 others in separate attacks in the northwest, traditional leaders and residents said, in the latest attacks by armed gangs that have been preying on villages, schools and highways. Zamfara state is one of the worst hit by the armed gangs, known locally as bandits, who terrorise and abduct for ransom, adding to growing insecurity ahead of a presidential vote in February. In the remote village of Masu, in the Bukkuyum local government area, bandits kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, families of the victims told Reuters. Ismail Jinjiri, whose wife…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Gunmen release children kidnapped from Nigerian farm

NEWS

HAMZA IBRAHIM A group of 21 children who were abducted by gunmen last week from a farm in northwestern Nigeria's Katsina state were freed and reunited with their families, police said. Kidnapping has become endemic in recent years in Katsina - the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari - as roving gangs of armed men abduct people from schools, hospitals, roads and farms and demand ransom cash from their relatives. Three of the captives' parents told Reuters the children, aged between 8 and 14, were released after parents paid a ransom of 1.5 million naira ($3,400), but police spokesman Gambo Isa denied…