Local ruler Ayuba Dodo Dakolo kidnapped in Nigeria

Disgusted people have gathered at the residence of a kidnapped traditional head Ayuba Dodo Dakolo in Nigeria.

Ayuba Dodo Dakolo was kidnapped together with three of his children and numerous other people on his property on the outskirts of Rijana village in northern Kaduna state on Thursday.

His subjects have gathered at the palace to await word on his fate, as gunmen are said to have demanded a ransom and other commodities such as petrol, narcotics, and food.

The town is located on the notorious Abuja-Kaduna route, where kidnapping gangs frequently target people travelling between Abuja and Kaduna.

This week, kidnappers struck the town of Magazu in neighbouring Zamfara state.

More than 20 persons were apprehended on Thursday night, with 40 others — largely women – apprehended a few days before.

During the attacks, gunmen on motorcycles and in cars took livestock.

A senior Zamfara official confirmed the kidnappings, telling the BBC that more security troops had been dispatched to the region as hundreds of locals fled the town in fear of future attacks.

Nigeria is battling a fatal wave of ransom kidnappings by armed gangs that usually target unguarded rural communities, schools, and automobiles.

So far, the deployment of thousands of security troops has not resulted in the cessation of violence.

According to some estimates, kidnappers, often known as bandits in the region, have killed over 3,500 individuals since the beginning of this year.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a contentious law that would imprison anyone who pays ransoms and impose the death sentence or life in prison on kidnappers. Before it becomes law, it must be approved by the lower house and signed by the president.

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