# ‘If you started running, they shot you’: inside Nigeria’s growing kidnapping crisis

https://mins.news/en/item/33693

- BBC News, 2026-08-26 23:11 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2z0p3nmdro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> Communities in north-western Nigeria are living in fear as armed gangs attack villages, kill residents and abduct people for ransom. Fatima says her husband and six siblings were killed in one raid in Zamfara. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by violence, while the pattern of attacks and kidnappings appears to be spreading south.

## Stories

- [Nigeria mass abduction rescue](https://mins.news/en/topic/nigeria-mass-abduction-rescue) — Markdown: https://mins.news/en/topic/nigeria-mass-abduction-rescue.md

## Related coverage

- [Why are kidnappings recurrent in Nigeria?](https://mins.news/en/item/34812) — Al Jazeera, 2026-08-27
- [Why are kidnappings recurrent in Nigeria?](https://mins.news/en/video/34730) — Al Jazeera English, 2026-08-27
- [Video shows hundreds held captive after Nigeria mosque kidnapping](https://mins.news/en/item/30655) — The Guardian, 2026-08-24
