The skulls and bones of at least 28 people have been recovered from suspected criminal camps in forests in Abia State, police say, according to a BBC report.
Police in the south-eastern state are investigating the identities of the remains found in the Umuaku and Nneato forests on Saturday, September 26, 2026, after a security operation was carried out in the Umunneochi area.
Police spokeswoman Maureen Chinaka said the suspects fled when police arrived.
“Upon arrival of the Command’s tactical operatives at the camps, the suspects fled. The criminal camps were subsequently dismantled. A total of twenty-eight human skulls and bones, suspected to be kidnap victims, were recovered,” Chinaka said in a statement.
According to the Abia State Police Command, the raids were launched following intelligence reports about suspected criminal activity in the forests. Officers suspect the remains belong to kidnapping victims, although forensic and other investigations are ongoing to establish their identities and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Abia State Police Commissioner Wilfred Afolabi said the operation was part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle criminal hideouts in the state. Police have appealed to residents to report suspicious activity as efforts continue to identify the victims and determine whether the remains are connected to unresolved kidnapping cases in the region.
Authorities have previously discovered decomposing bodies believed to be linked to kidnapping activities during security raids in Umunneochi.
The grim discovery in Abia comes as families in Borno State continue to wait for the release of 78 schoolchildren abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Askira-Uba Local Government Area.
On May 15, 2026, 42 students and pupils were abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School . On June 29, 2026, 36 students and one teacher were abducted from Government Day Secondary School in Lassa . The two attacks brought the total number of missing children to 78.
The children have now spent more than 100 days in captivity. Families of the Mussa children held a press conference at the National Assembly in Abuja in August under the theme, “Bring Our Children Home — 100 Days of Horror, Pain and Suffering Is Enough” .
“100 days is too long. 100 days without our children. 100 days of sleepless nights. 100 days of tears and fear. 100 days of uncertainty,” the group said .
The families demanded that President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babagana Zulum intensify efforts to rescue the children, citing the successful rescue of Oyo schoolchildren who were abducted on the same day as the Mussa children and released on July 10 after 56 days in captivity .
“If it could be done in Oyo, it can be done in Borno,” the group declared .
The Christian Association of Nigeria, Borno State chapter, has also called for the immediate rescue of the 78 abducted schoolchildren and others who have spent more than 100 days in captivity.
CAN Chairman in the state, John Bakeni, made the call on Sunday during a prayer session organised to mark the association’s 50th anniversary in Maiduguri .
“CAN is 50. There are lots of events and activities that have been lined up. Sadly, at the state level, our celebration is a sober one,” he said .
“How do you celebrate when your children are in captivity, when your brothers and sisters are in captivity, when so many communities are being attacked and challenged by insecurity, and when economic hardship is biting hard?”
Bakeni said the association had been using advocacy to draw the attention of the authorities to the plight of those held in captivity.
“These kids have spent over 100 days in captivity. You can imagine the pain, agony and trauma their parents are going through,” he said .
He urged the Federal Government, Borno State Government, security agencies and other stakeholders involved in the rescue efforts to intensify their efforts.
“It is a responsibility that rests on their shoulders. We urge them to do something to rescue the abducted persons because it is long overdue,” he said .
Earlier in August, CAN had declared a three-day fasting and prayer programme for the safe release of the abducted schoolchildren, themed “A Call for Three Days Fasting and Prayers for the Safe Return of Our Kidnapped Brethren” .
The abduction of schoolchildren in Borno is part of a broader pattern of mass kidnappings across Nigeria. In an attack on Sunday, nearly 50 farmers were abducted by gunmen in Niger State, while about 40 other women were kidnapped in neighbouring Zamfara State, according to two security reports seen by AFP and a local source.
Abductions for ransom have become a key source of income for criminals, including bandits and militant Islamists, in northern Nigeria.
Governor Zulum has said President Tinubu directed security agencies to ensure the rescue of the Mussa children . Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, representing Southern Borno, has also called on the Nigerian military to intensify efforts towards the rescue of the abducted schoolchildren and other victims .
“The society you built requires VDM to find justice. Very soon there will be multiplicities of VDM in the society that you have built. And if you have not noticed, there are already copycat VDMs springing up,” the group said .
