Hommam Al Nassim 
Gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped nearly 100 people, including women and children, in two separate attacks in Kaduna state, residents and police said Monday.
Nigeria witnesses kidnappings on an almost daily basis, especially in the north, where kidnapping gangs target citizens for ransom, amid the inability of the authorities to fight these crimes.
Kaduna State Police spokesman Mansur Hassan confirmed the incident in Kaguru Station village but could not determine how many were missing.
Tanko Wada Sarkin, a village leader, said 87 people had been abducted, adding that five of them had managed to return after fleeing through the bush, noting that this attack was the fifth targeting the area.
According to the testimony of Arwa Yaw, a resident of the village, the gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, entered the village undetected, kidnapping him before releasing him due to his deteriorating health.
Gunmen also abducted 16 people from their homes in an attack on Saturday evening at the Dogun Numa community.
The militant group Boko Haram was the first group to carry out kidnappings in Nigerian schools several years ago, abducting more than 200 students from a girls’ school in Chibok, Borno state.
The killing of 16 Nigerian soldiers in clashes in an oil region