Gunmen kidnap 150 people in central Nigeria: officials

Gunmen in central Nigeria have kidnapped about 150 people in the country's latest mass abduction, officials told AFP on Monday.

Attackers on motorbikes stormed Kuchi village in Niger state on Friday night, where they killed eight people and "abducted about 150 villagers," local government chairman Aminu Najume said.

"They came on around 100 motorcycles each carrying three men," he said. "No help came throughout the three hours they took operating in the village."

A UN source gave the same figure for the number kidnapped, while Nigerian state rescue agency SEMA said more than 100 were abducted.

Mass kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria's northwest and central states, where heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits often target remote villages to loot and abduct residents.

Boko Haram and rival jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) also regularly carry out abductions in northeast Nigeria.

Some jihadist groups have established a presence outside the region including in Niger state.

Najume, who blamed bandits for Friday's attack, accused Nigerian security forces of failing to prevent regular raids.

"These killers usually come in from neighbouring Kaduna state to operate in Niger and go back. They come in hundreds and surprisingly security personnel don't see them while they are on their way. And when villagers alert them they take no action," he said.

Bandits have no ideological leaning and are motivated by financial gain but there has been concern from analysts and officials over their increasing alliance with jihadists waging a 15-year conflict in the northeast.