Butchered Like Animals: 35 Nigerians Killed by Kidnappers Despite Ransom Payment

A heartbreaking tragedy has unfolded in northern Nigeria, where at least 35 kidnapped villagers from Banga, Zamfara State, have been brutally killed by armed gangs—despite families paying the demanded ransom for their release.

The mass abduction occurred in March 2025, when 56 people were taken from Banga village in the Kauran Namoda local government area by criminal groups commonly referred to as bandits in the region. These gangs, operating with alarming frequency and brutality in northern Nigeria, have increasingly turned to kidnapping for ransom as a lucrative form of criminal enterprise.

According to reports by the BBC, the abductors demanded ₦1 million naira (approximately $655 USD) per captive. After protracted negotiations, families and local authorities managed to raise and pay the ransom. A portion of the hostages were released, including 17 women and one young boy, but in a shocking betrayal, the kidnappers slaughtered 35 others, most of whom were young men.

“They were slaughtered like rams,” said Manniru Haidara Kaura, chairman of the local government. “Only they [the gunmen] know why they killed them. They are senseless and heartless people. They forget that they are killing their own brothers, and we will all meet before Allah.”

The released victims are now receiving medical treatment, with 16 currently hospitalized. Meanwhile, the bodies of those killed may never be recovered, as it is common in such cases for abductors to withhold the remains of their victims.

This incident underscores the deepening crisis of insecurity and lawlessness in parts of northern Nigeria. Despite a 2022 law criminalizing ransom payments—with penalties including a minimum of 15 years in prison for payers and the death penalty for abductors when victims die—enforcement remains elusive. Not a single person has reportedly been prosecuted under the law since its enactment.

For families, the choice is often a desperate one: risk violating the law, or lose a loved one forever. Many believe the government has failed to protect them, forcing communities to negotiate directly with armed criminals to secure the release of their relatives.

The massacre in Banga is not just another statistic—it is a stark reminder of the ongoing human cost of unchecked insecurity. As families grieve and survivors recover, calls are growing louder for the Nigerian government to take decisive action to dismantle these criminal networks and restore safety to its citizens.

Until then, ordinary Nigerians continue to live under the shadow of fear, caught between a legal system that criminalizes their desperation and a security environment that leaves them at the mercy of ruthless gunmen.