A video showing a large group of people allegedly held captive by armed kidnappers in a forest has emerged in Nigeria, raising fresh concerns over the escalating wave of mass abductions in the country.
The footage surfaced on Sunday, two days after gunmen reportedly abducted up to 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village, Niger State.
Residents said the attackers also raided several surrounding communities at the same time, taking away scores of people.
In the widely circulated video, shared on Facebook and WhatsApp, men believed to be armed kidnappers are seen guarding a large number of captives in a forested location.
Children can be heard crying in the background while one of the armed men, speaking in Hausa, addresses relatives of the victims and asks them to identify their loved ones.
“These are all your people,” the gunman says.
The authenticity of the video and the exact location where it was recorded could not be independently established. News agencies also reported that there was no evidence of an earlier version of the footage being available online before Sunday.
However, residents of the affected communities said some of the people shown in the video had been identified by their families.
First images… Lakurawa terrorist have posted the images of the mass kidnapping carried out by the terrorist group in dekara town on borgu axis Niger state on Friday… Most of victims appears to be old men and women with kids…. This is not Islam and whoever accormodate this… pic.twitter.com/Qb9DcjyLzF
— usman (@secmxx) August 23, 2026
Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, a resident, said several families had recognised their relatives, including elderly people, women and children.
“We have identified our elders, relatives, and some of us have seen their wives and children in the video,” he said.
Police authorities and the state government had yet to issue a detailed response to the video at the time of reporting.
The development has intensified calls for urgent action to rescue the abducted worshippers and other victims being held by armed groups.
Amnesty International urged the Nigerian authorities to prioritise the safe release of the victims, warning that mass abductions have become an increasingly serious threat in northern Nigeria.
Niger State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Obed Nana, said security forces were already working to assess the situation, locate the attackers and secure the release of the abducted worshippers.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a persistent security challenge in north-western and north-central Nigeria, with criminal gangs frequently attacking villages, schools, religious gatherings and motorists.
The increasing spread of such attacks beyond established hotspots has further heightened fears over the safety of communities across the country.