An armed group posted a video on Facebook and WhatsApp that showed roughly 600 women, children and older people seated in a forested clearing while armed men stood nearby, with children audible crying in the background. Two days earlier, gunmen attacked worshippers at a mosque in Dekara village during Friday prayers, taking people away in simultaneous raids on several nearby communities. Mass kidnappings for ransom are common in north-western and north-central Nigeria, where heavily armed gangs frequently raid villages, schools and highways; the phenomenon has recently spread southward from the traditional north. A gunman speaking Hausa told families to identify their relatives among those shown in the footage. Residents Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi said they recognized some of the captives, including 13 individuals they knew, and observed mothers with infants. Police and state authorities did not respond to requests for comment and have not confirmed the exact number of people abducted. Residents have appealed to federal and state officials to secure the release of the captives.