Western woman killed, three other people kidnapped in northern Nigeria

By Garba Muhammad

KADUNA, April 21 (Reuters) - Kidnappers in Nigeria killed two people including a Western woman on Saturday and abducted three Nigerians in the northern city of Kaduna, the local police said.

Kidnappings are rampant in Nigeria, where both locals and foreigners are targeted — mostly for ransom.

The woman traveled from Lagos as a tourist and was attending a party before the incident happened, police said, adding she had no identification. Police were yet to confirm her nationality.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the incident and the kidnappers have yet to be identified.

"Some suspected kidnappers armed with dangerous weapons gained entry into a recreational resort called Kajuru Castle in Kajuru local government area shooting sporadically and in the process shot dead two persons, including an expatriate lady, and took away three others," Kaduna state police spokesman said.

Northern Nigeria is plagued by a Boko Haram and an Islamic State insurgency as well as clashes between farmers and herders in which hundreds have died.

President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election for another four years in February, pledging to improve security in Nigeria, boost economic growth and fight corruption.

In 2014, more than 270 schoolgirls were abducted from the town of Chibok propelling the Boko Haram insurgency into the spotlight, prompting the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Some of the girls remain in captivity five year later. (Reporting by Garba Muhammad and Paul Carsten in Abuja Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)