Nigeria kidnapping: communities say 547 taken

Communities in central Nigeria said Thursday that 547 people were taken in a mass kidnapping last month, contradicting Niger state Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago's claim that only a few dozen were abducted.

A list published Thursday and signed by local youth activist Zubairu Umar named 547 people individually and said their whereabouts remained unknown. The list said people were taken during an attack on a mosque in Dikera, also spelled Dekera or Dekara, and nearby villages including Kpenya, Giagbasso, Gbenji and Gbebara.

Locals say suspected jihadists kidnapped hundreds during Friday prayers. Bago's comments sparked protests on September 21 in Borgu district. His spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A video circulating on social media after the raid showed several hundred people, many of them women and children, gathered in a forest and presented as hostages taken from Dikera.

President Bola Tinubu ordered security forces shortly after the attack to launch a coordinated rescue operation. Nigeria is facing a long-running jihadist insurgency, while northwest and central areas also face raids and kidnappings by armed gangs.