Nigeria blames jihadist groups for wave of kidnappings, but others blame criminal gangs

The Nigerian government says the jihadist group Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap) are behind a recent wave of kidnappings in northwest and central Nigeria, but analysts have cast doubt on this, telling the BBC that the kidnappings are the work of local criminal gangs known as “bandits”.

This is the first time the government has stated who is responsible for the kidnapping, but it has not revealed any evidence to support its claims.

Kidnapping for ransom has become big business in parts of Nigeria In recent years, criminal elements have included kidnapping gangs, jihadists and separatists.

It’s a lucrative cash cow, but the government has always denied paying the ransom.

In the past two weeks alone, there have been three mass kidnappings in the region:

• November 17th – in Magga, Kebbi State Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School. Two people were killed and 25 kidnapped, including a teacher – all now freed

• November 18 – in Eruku, Kwara State, at Christ Apostolic Church. Two killed, 38 kidnapped – all released

• November 21 – In Papyrus, Niger State, St. Mary’s Catholic School. More than 250 children and 12 staff members were reportedly abducted, but officials question the figures

Paying ransom is outlawed in Nigeria, despite allegations that the ban is widely ignored.

In an interview with the BBC, presidential spokesman Sunday Dare did not reveal whether money had been paid to free the handful of recently released abductees, saying only: “Whatever process was involved – kinetic, non-kinetic, negotiated, etc. – it was successful.”

When asked who was behind the kidnappings, he responded: “The overwhelming data, nationally and internationally, clearly shows that Iswap is everywhere. Furthermore, whatever is left of Boko Haram, they are there,” he continued.

“They are the ones involved in the process.”

Iswap is an offshoot of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria for more than a decade.

Mr Dyer also reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s pledge to ensure the remaining abductees are rescued, but failed to guarantee how long it would take.

In some of the most serious cases in the past, abducted children either died at the hands of their captors or were held captive for years on end. Like the infamous Chibok schoolgirl abduction by Boko Haram.

Analyst Bulama Bukarti told the BBC he disagreed with the government’s assertion that jihadist groups were behind the recent wave of kidnappings.

“I think this is inaccurate. There is no Iswap or Boko Haram presence in the northwest. The recent kidnappings, including mass kidnappings, have been carried out by bandits, not Boko Haram or Iswap,”

These bandits are local armed groups, usually riding motorcycles, with no central organization and operate mainly in the northwest region. Boko Haram and Iswap mainly operate hundreds of miles away in northeastern Nigeria.

The BBC asked Acled, an international monitoring group that analyzes attacks by armed groups, to assess the three kidnappings.

Aklade said that in all four cases, Fulani militia groups, known locally as “bandits”, were responsible for the kidnappings.

Fulani herdsmen clash with Muslim and Christian communities across Nigeria.

The largest of these incidents, in which more than 200 children from St. Mary’s Catholic School were reportedly abducted, “appeared to be partly an attempt to anger the government and achieve certain political goals,” the report said.

Akelaed told the BBC that church attacks in southern Kwara state were “part of a Fulani expansionist movement and a way to drive locals out of their communities to engage in illegal mining activities”.

“Local displacement due to mining has emerged as a new pattern for the activities of Fuli militias in the Birnin Gwari region of Zamfara and Kaduna states.

Thirteen teenage girls were abducted in northeastern Borno state, Boko Haram’s stronghold, shortly after mass abductions in northwest and central Nigeria. Analysts agree that it was most likely the work of a jihadist group.

Nigeria’s security crisis has been thrust into the international spotlight in recent weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to send in troops “with guns blazing” if the government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”

Nigerian officials and analysts say members of all faiths have been victims of violence and kidnappings, and there is no truth to claims that Christians are being targeted.