Bandits have abducted at least 20 persons, mostly young girls and women in Moriki town, Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

A resident of Moriki, Sufyanu Moriki, told reporters that the victims were abducted on Saturday while fetching firewood on the outskirts of the town.

“The abduction actually happened on Saturday, they went out to fetch firewood at the outskirts of the town when they were kidnapped by the armed group.”

“They are yet to contact anyone to demand ransom.”

Police authorities in the state are yet to confirm the incident.

The Zamfara Police Command’s spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, said he was yet to be informed about the incident and promised to revert when he gets the information.

“Banditry” crisis originated in conflict over land and water rights between herders and farmers but has morphed into organised crime, with gangs preying on rural communities that have long had little or no government presence.

The conflict is worsening a malnutrition crisis in the northwest as attacks drive people away from their farms, in a situation that has been complicated by climate change and western aid cuts.

Last month, bandits in Zamfara killed 33 people they had kidnapped in February despite receiving a $33,700 ransom, while three babies died in captivity, officials and residents told AFP.

Violence has spread in recent years from the northwest into north-central Nigeria.

Two weeks ago, Nigerian troops killed at least 95 members of an armed gang in a shootout and airstrikes in the northwest state of Niger.

The recent emergence of the Lakurawa group in the northwest has worsened violence in the region.