JOS, Nigeria, April 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Armed gangs in northern Nigeria have killed around 12 people and kidnapped many more, local sources said Friday, the latest in a surge of violence that has killed dozens just this week.

The raids by criminal gangs known as "bandits" in Sokoto state on Thursday followed several days of attacks in the country's mostly Muslim north.

Since Sunday, more than 100 people had already been killed by jihadists and criminal gangs, who have stepped up their attacks since last year against military bases and villages.

"At least 12 people have been killed, 43 others have been kidnapped across villages in Isa and Sabon Birni local government areas," Ahmad Yahaya, a local community leader in Dan adua village, told AFP.

"The attack was carried out by many armed bandits, on Thursday," he said.

A lawmaker representing the Isa and Sabon Birni areas, Muhammad Saidu Bargaja, confirmed the incident.

"The security situation was highly devastating" Wednesday and Thursday, he said.

"Gunmen have killed 11 people across various villages. They also kidnapped 41 people," he added.

The two areas are under the control of a notorious bandit leader, Bello Turji, whose group imposes taxes on local communities and carries out raids against those that refuse to pay.

Earlier this week, an army general and several troops were killed in an overnight jihadist attack on a military base in northeastern Nigeria, local government and intelligence sources told AFP Thursday.

Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah was the second top officer to be killed in five months.

At least 90 other people were killed by gunmen in remote villages in the northwestern states of Kebbi and Niger since Sunday, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local, humanitarian and church sources.