The kidnapping of 80 persons last week in northern Nigeria has been denounced by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In Zamfara state, many of those taken hostage were women and teenagers who had been gathering firewood.
ECOWAS demanded the release of the kids in a statement.
It’s unclear who carried out the abductions. Armed criminal gangs frequently demand ransom while kidnapping people in Zamfara. This latest episode in a string of brutal crimes in Nigeria.
Armed gangs killed more than 70 people in two separate attacks in the central state of Benue last week.
On Friday, a camp for internally displaced people in the area of Mgban was targeted by gunmen and dozens killed.
And a week ago, a number of residents were shot in the remote village of Umogidi. Some were decapitated.