Gunmen kidnap Muslim travelers in Plateau State

A journalist in Plateau state said ransom demands have begun to arrive on the families of the latest victims.

Police have not yet revealed the identities of any possible perpetrators.

Kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, have become commonplace in parts of northern and central Nigeria.

Although it is illegal to hand over cash to free detainees, it is considered a solution to many cases and is seen as a way for these gangs to raise funds.

The events in Plateau state are not related to the long-running Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeast, where jihadist groups have been fighting for more than a decade.

In November, Nigeria’s insecurity returned to international attention when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to send troops into “that now discredited, ‘bullet-ridden’ country.” He claimed that Christians were being targeted.

Nigeria’s federal government acknowledges there are security concerns but denies that Christians are being provoked.

Information Minister Mohammed Idris said on Monday that recent tensions with the United States over insecurity and alleged persecution of Christians had been “largely resolved,” leading to stronger ties with Washington.

He added that well-trained and equipped forest guards would be deployed to supplement army operations to protect forests and other remote areas used by criminal gangs as hideouts.

Additional reporting by Abayomi Adisa and BBC Monitoring