Kidnap Victim Claims Most Kidnappers Operating in Nigeria Are Foreign Fulani

A Fulani man who recently regained his freedom after being abducted by kidnappers has claimed that many of the armed groups involved in kidnapping activities in Nigeria are not indigenous Fulani from the country.

Speaking while recounting his ordeal in captivity, the victim alleged that a significant number of kidnappers operating in parts of the country are Fulani from neighbouring countries, particularly Chad.

According to him, local Nigerian Fulani communities are often unfairly blamed for crimes committed by foreign criminal elements.

“The Fulani that are kidnapping people are not Nigerian Fulani. They are mostly Fulani from Chad. We Nigerian Fulani may eat someone else’s farm with our cows, but we don’t kidnap,” he said.

The remark comes amid ongoing national debates over insecurity, banditry and kidnapping, particularly in northern and central parts of Nigeria, where criminal gangs have continued to target communities, schools and travellers for ransom.