Kidnappers release video showing hundreds abducted from Nigerian mosque

By Al Jazeera Staff, Anadolu and Reuters. Published On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Residents, including Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, were able to confirm the identities of some ⁠of the hostages.
• Amnesty International has pressed Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the worshippers, warning of the growing threat posed by mass abductions in northern Nigeria.
• As he prepares for the election, President Bola Tinubu has faced growing criticism over lax security.
• Kidnappers have published a video of what appears to be a substantial group of individuals being held captive by armed men in a forested area in Nigeria.
• In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying.

Meanwhile, the video emerged on Sunday, two days after gunmen abducted as plenty of as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Nigeria's north-central Niger state.

Meanwhile, the incident comes as Nigeria prepares for presidential elections in January, with security probable to be high on the agenda due to a wave of mass kidnappings for ransom throughout the north of the country.

Dekera village residents have documented that gunmen took residents away in simultaneous raids on a number of communities.

In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman speaking in the Hausa language speaks directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify relatives. "These are all your people, " the gunman ⁠notes.

News agencies documented that they could not verify the exact date or location where the video was filmed. Nevertheless, no older version of the video has been identified posted online before Sunday.

"We have identified our elders, relatives, and some of us have seen their wives and children in the video, " he remarked. Police and state authorities have not responded to requests for comment.

State Commissioner for Information and Orientation Obed Nana informed the Anadolu news agency that an operation is under way to "assess the situation, track the attackers, and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers".

Mass abductions for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, with armed gangs frequently raiding villages, schools and highways and holding abductees until the gangs are paid sizeable sums of capital.

Increasingly, the gunmen are targeting communities further south, beyond ‌hot spots in the north.

In short, kidnappers release video showing hundreds abducted from Nigerian mosque is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.