Gunmen Abduct 28 in Plateau State, Nigeria

Gunmen abducted at least 28 travelers, including women and children, in central Nigeria's Plateau State on Sunday night, authorities confirmed, marking the latest in a series of mass kidnappings plaguing the region. The attack occurred around 8 p.m. along a rural road near Zak village in the Bashar District of Wase Local Government Area, as the group headed to Sabon Layi for an annual Islamic Maulud celebration commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

According to local residents and police, the assailants ambushed a single vehicle carrying the passengers, forced everyone out at gunpoint and fled with the captives, leaving the bus abandoned by the roadside. Among those taken were two local princes and a religious leader, along with men, women and teenagers from the Zak community. The vehicle belonged to a community leader, and its discovery on Monday morning alerted residents to the scale of the incident. A youth leader in Wase, Sapii Sambo, described the victims as a mix of families traveling together for the event. "The gunmen stopped them at the outskirts and took everyone, including the children," Sambo said.

The Plateau State Police Command received reports of the...