Suspected armed bandits have abducted dozens of farmers in Niger State’s Mariga Local Government Area, with local authorities saying the attackers are demanding ₦2 million for each captive, as security forces intensify efforts to locate the victims and secure their release. The incident has again exposed the security pressures facing farming communities in parts of the state, where residents depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods.
The abduction occurred on September 27, 2026, at about 3 p.m. around Mukura village in the Kasuwan-Garba District of Mariga Local Government Area. The Niger State Police Command said suspected bandits abducted more than 20 people, while Mariga Local Government Chairman Aliyu Bagga Muhammadu put the number at 47. The victims were working on farmland, with several reportedly harvesting groundnuts when the armed men arrived.
There remains a difference between the figures provided by the police and the local government authorities. Police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun said information received by the command indicated that more than 20 people had been abducted. Muhammadu, however, said information available to the local government showed that 47 farmers had been taken. The conflicting figures mean the precise number of captives has not yet been independently established, although both authorities have confirmed that a major abduction occurred.
Muhammadu said women formed the majority of the victims. According to his account, the attackers encountered women harvesting groundnuts, gathered them together and took them away before also seizing men working on nearby farms. He said the abductors subsequently contacted relatives and demanded ₦2 million for each person. If the local government’s figure of 47 victims is confirmed, the demand would amount to ₦94 million.
One particularly concerning development confirmed by the council chairman was that one of the abducted women gave birth while being held captive. No detailed information about the condition of the woman or her newborn baby had been publicly released at the time of reporting. The development adds urgency to efforts to reach the captives, particularly because their conditions, access to food, shelter and medical assistance remain unknown.
Security personnel have been deployed following the abduction. Abiodun said joint security rescue operations were continuing, while the council chairman said military personnel and local vigilantes had been mobilised to follow the attackers. Muhammadu also reported that joint security personnel had earlier confronted suspected bandits around the Kasuwan Garba and Beri axis, during which a vigilante member sustained injuries. Authorities had not announced the rescue of the latest group of abducted farmers at the time of reporting.
Accounts of how many people were seized have varied further in some reports. Leadership reported that about 40 farmers were abducted and quoted a farmer who escaped as saying the attackers arrived on roughly 20 motorcycles. However, because the police have officially confirmed only that more than 20 people were taken and the council chairman has given a figure of 47, those remain the principal figures available from identifiable authorities.
The latest incident comes shortly after another major security emergency in Mariga. Earlier in September, armed attackers invaded Maburya community in the same local government area and abducted an unspecified number of residents. Police said military and police tactical teams were deployed following that attack. Reports that some of the captives were later released were not immediately confirmed by the police, illustrating the difficulty authorities sometimes face in establishing precise information from remote communities during security operations.
Farmers elsewhere in Niger State have also faced attacks while travelling to or working on agricultural land. In June, troops reportedly prevented an attempted abduction of farmers in Mariga, while security personnel and vigilantes rescued 11 kidnapping victims following an operation in the local government area in July. These incidents show that the latest kidnapping is occurring against a background of continuing security operations and attacks affecting rural settlements in the region.
For communities in Mariga, the immediate concern is the safe return of those abducted. But repeated attacks on farms also carry wider consequences. Agriculture is the principal source of income for many rural households, meaning insecurity that prevents residents from reaching their fields can affect harvesting, household earnings and local food supplies. Farmers may face the difficult choice between continuing to cultivate their land despite security risks or staying away and losing crops on which their families depend.
The timing is particularly significant because the victims were reportedly harvesting groundnuts when they were abducted. Harvest periods require farmers to spend considerable time in fields that can be far from populated settlements. When those areas become unsafe, disruption can extend beyond individual farmers to traders, transporters and markets that depend on agricultural produce. Reports from farming communities in Niger and neighbouring states have previously documented how insecurity can restrict access to farmland and threaten agricultural production.
The ₦2 million ransom demand reported by the Mariga council chairman also places potential financial pressure on affected families. Authorities have not announced that any ransom has been paid, and there is no confirmed information that negotiations have resulted in the release of any of the latest captives. The identities of most of those abducted have also not been officially published.
For now, police say joint rescue efforts remain underway. The difference between the police figure of more than 20 abductees and the local government’s count of 47 remains unresolved, but officials agree that farmers were taken from the Mukura and Kasuwan-Garba area. For residents, the immediate priority remains the safe recovery of the captives, including the woman reported to have delivered a baby in captivity, while the incident renews concerns about whether farmers can safely work the land on which their communities depend.
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