Gunmen kill 10, kidnap 40 in northwest Nigeria: security report

Gangs known locally as "bandits" operate across swathes of rural northwest and central Nigeria, where they raid villages, kidnap residents for ransom and impose "taxes" on farmers and miners.

The gangs, which are motivated by financial gains rather than ideology, have at times collaborated with jihadists, who have spread out from their strongholds in the northeast.

"Armed bandits... killed at least 10 people" and kidnapped "at least 40" in a Sunday raid on Tofa town, in Sokoto state's Rabah district, according to a report prepared for the United Nations and seen by AFP.

Hadiyyatullahi Hamisu, a Tofa resident, gave the same toll, adding that a large amount of livestock was looted by the attackers.

The report blamed the attack on bandits loyal to Bello Turji, a bandit kingpin from neighbouring Zamfara state.

Rabah district borders Zamfara state, where kidnapping and cattle-rustling gangs operate from camps in forests that straddle several states in the northwest and central regions.

Police in Sokoto did not respond to AFP's inquiry on the incident.

The attack is part of bandits' strategy of using kidnappings "as viable source of revenue and deadly violence to intimidate communities and reinforce control over affected areas", the report said.

It also warned that the incident was likely to "disrupt humanitarian activities" in the area "due to the heightened risk of attacks".

Northwest Nigeria is increasingly under strain from both bandits as well as jihadists, as Islamist militants have splintered and spread out since Boko Haram's 2009 uprising in the northeast.

Last month, around 30 Muslim worshippers were killed when suspected jihadists attacked the town of Ungushi, in Sokoto's Kebbe district, during Friday prayers, according to local officials.