If you ran into a room, they set the room on fire. If you came out and started running, they shot you. That's Fatima's cheerful summary of the attack on her village in Zamfara, north-western Nigeria, where gunmen at 02:00 split into three groups - one at the entrance, one in the centre, one at the back - and opened fire indiscriminately, as the 55-year-old quietly told the BBC World Service.
It's one of many raids that have turned the mainly Muslim community into a living nightmare, with residents living in fear of being kidnapped for ransom. Fatima explains the logistics: "You could have 100 motorcycles, and each one could be carrying three people." In June, about 70 people, including children, were killed in her village of Bia Buki. Among the dead were her husband and six of his seven siblings. Some children were injured falling into ditches while fleeing.
Fatima is one of an estimated 800,000 Nigerians displaced in the north-west, according to the UN, with violence being a primary driver. While militant Islamist groups carry out some attacks, the majority are by gangs - locally called bandits - who ride in on motorcycles, attack quickly, and ride away before security forces arrive. Thousands have joined government-backed vigilante groups to fight back; one told the BBC his group had killed many bandits. But the gangs keep coming, and the violence is spreading southwards.
When bandits attacked her home, Fatima ran into the nearby forest with other villagers. "The forest became our sanctuary. We ran with our kids, if you couldn't find your child you'd take your neighbour's child." After sleeping in the forest, they moved to the state capital, Gusau, "where we found a little bit of peace."
She now lives in an informal camp in Gusau with her seven children, aged nine to 30. More than 1,000 people are here, she believes. Conditions are tough - "no proper place to even lay your head" - with scarce food and irregular assistance. "Good Samaritans" have brought rice or potatoes twice. Children gather firewood to sell so families can buy food, but 22 have been kidnapped by bandits. Gesturing to a nearby building, she says, "You will find 100 or more women… maybe just two or three have had breakfast. When we had peace, we had our own wealth, but now the tables have turned and we have become beggars." Her eyes fill with tears.
Despite being 16 miles (25km) from her village, the threat persists. Gunshots kept her awake at night initially; army and vigilante patrols have quieted things, but the atmosphere is tense.
The bandits are mostly Fulani, traditionally cattle herders, who've swapped animal trading for kidnapping and extortion - faster, easier money. They attack towns, ambush travellers, abduct for ransom, steal, kill those who resist, and force communities to pay protection money so farmers can access their fields. Attacks are more frequent than ever: in the bandit heartlands of north-west Nigeria, incidents recorded by Acled rose 78% in the first half of this year compared to last. Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission data shows kidnappings across the country doubled over the same period.
Malik Samuel at Good Governance Africa says, "There is no region in northern Nigeria currently that does not experience one form of mass abduction or the other." Nigeria faces a complex security situation: bandit gangs in the north-west, Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist unrest in the south-east, and clashes in central regions over land and water. Most analysts agree armed groups affect all communities regardless of background.
Schools are a common target. Boko Haram's 2014 kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok made global headlines, but now various groups use kidnapping for funds, targeting soft targets like schools, churches, mosques, and remote villages. In May this year, gunmen on motorcycles attacked three schools in Oyo state, south-west Nigeria - previously considered relatively safe - abducting 39 children (the youngest just two years old) and seven teachers. One teacher was killed during the raid; another's murder was filmed. After 56 days, the remaining 44 hostages were released; the government said it refused to pay ransom and that security forces freed them. Three men were sentenced to life in prison for the attacks, confessing to membership in a Boko Haram affiliate. The abduction spread fear in Oriire, with parents pulling children out of school. Traditional ruler Oba Tajudeen Abioye, whose niece was among the kidnapped, said, "There is fear because many residents have run away and are yet to return."
Nigeria already has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally - about 19 million, per Unesco. Multiple security issues mean the military and police are overstretched. A 2025 UN report cited underfunded police stations, lacking hostage negotiation and forensic skills. President Bola Tinubu's administration has allocated the largest defence and security budget in the country's history, raising it by 10% in December 2025, and approved recruiting 28,000 new soldiers.
In Zamfara, thousands have joined vigilante groups to fill gaps. But there are concerns: in 2020, Zamfara banned a large vigilante group over extrajudicial killings. Authorities say new vigilantes are better trained, but Samuel calls them a "time bomb waiting to happen." "If citizens arm themselves how do you control them at the end of the crisis?" he asks.
One vigilante, speaking anonymously in July, perched on his motorcycle with an AK-47, a scarf as a balaclava, and gold and silver skull rings. "We are some of the people the governor hired to protect the community," he said, fighting bandits "with the help of God." He estimates fighting bandits at least 20 times, and says calls keep coming. "It's hard to go a week without these reports." He calls for more armed recruits: "These people won't be afraid of you unless you have proper weapons to fight them."
Fatima also calls for more action: "These kidnappers are in every nook and cranny. I am not saying the government has failed but even if it is trying, it needs to do more." She wants to return home but has heard her village is now a camp for the gunmen, with the local bandit leader as de facto authority. Another nearby village "is completely empty, not even a chicken lives there… empty villages like that are countless." Even if she returned, "It's just difficulty you will face. There's nothing there, no food… you farm and when you go to harvest, they stop you or kidnap you."