Suspected armed robbers have abducted a village head, Mallam Abdullahi Zaure, and
9 others in an attack at Fugge community in Rijau Local Government of Nigeria State. According to a community member who requested anonymity, most of those abducted during last Friday's attack were women and children, and only a few men. The attackers reportedly arrived on motorbikes and started firing in the air in broad daylight to scare the villagers. Several cattle were also stolen during the incident. Niger State Police Public Relations Officer Wasiu Abiodun could not be reached for comment. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks by gunmen in northwestern and northern Nigeria, where kidnappings for ransom and inter-communal attacks are on the rise. Nigeria faces several security challenges, including jihadist conflict in the northeast and separatist tensions in the southeast.