Nigerian kidnappings reach crisis point
Abductions have become more indiscriminate across northern Nigeria as local criminal gangs view victims as a source of income, and the villagers — who have been ignored by the government — as disposable.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in response to the recent mass kidnapping of 279 schoolgirls in the country's Zamfara state, ordered security agents "to shoot any person or persons seen carrying AK-47s in any forest in the country."
Buhari also directed a ban on "all mining activities in Zamfara State, as well as the imposition of a no-fly zone over the state," his office said.