Kidnappers have released a video of what appears to be a large group of people being held captive by armed men in a forested area in Nigeria.
The video emerged on Sunday, two days after gunmen abducted as many as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State.
The incident comes as Nigeria prepares for presidential elections in January, with security likely to be high on the agenda due to a wave of mass kidnappings for ransom across the north of the country. 
Dekera village residents have reported that gunmen took people away in simultaneous raids on several communities.
In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman speaking in the Hausa language speaks directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify relatives.
“These are all your people,” the gunman says.
Mass abductions for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, with armed gangs frequently raiding villages, schools and highways and holding abductees until the gangs are paid large sums of money.
Increasingly, the gunmen are targeting communities further south, beyond hot spots in the north.
As he prepares for the election, President Bola Tinubu has faced growing criticism over lax security. (Al Jazeera)
