Gunmen Kidnap 12 in Nigeria

BY A STAFF REPORTER: At least 12 people have been abducted in two separate incidents in northern Nigeria, officials and witnesses said. In the first incident, four people were abducted by unidentified assailants late on Friday night. The village head of the Nasarawa-Burkulu community in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state has been detained, local official Muhammad Bukuyum said on Saturday.

"Three local farmers were abducted and the attackers demanded ransom," Bukuyum said. '

Boko Haram militants on Saturday abducted eight farmers in Maiwa village, about three kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's northeastern Borno state.