Amnesty International says 150 abducted in Zamfara, wants govt to investigate schoolgirl's death in Maiduguri

Africa, Cityscope, Crime Diary

ABUJA, NIGERIA, April 5, 2026 (NPA) — Amnesty International Nigeria has reported that armed men raided the villages of Kurfa Danya and Kurfan Magaji in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, abducting about 150 people on Thursday. According to the rights group, most of the victims were women and children.

In a statement issued Sunday, Amnesty quoted villagers who described living in fear, constantly bracing for attacks. “This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict,” the organization noted, criticizing authorities for failing to stem the mounting death toll and recurring mass abductions despite repeated assurances of action.

Zamfara State has long suffered from terrorist violence, with communities repeatedly displaced. Illegal mining has been cited as one of the drivers fueling insecurity in the region.

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Separately, Amnesty called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the killing of a 14-year-old secondary school student in Maiduguri on Saturday, April 4. The girl was struck by a stray bullet allegedly fired by military personnel during celebratory gunfire at a nearby wedding.

A friend of the victim recounted that she had just finished applying henna with her mother, joyfully preparing for a family wedding, when tragedy struck. The teenager, who lived with her family at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital quarters, was buried Sunday morning at Maiduguri graveyard.