22 farmers kidnapped near Nigeria's capital

Nigerian soldiers.

Nigerian soldiers on patrol on March 16, 2015. PHOTO | COURTESY | NIGERIAN ARMY

Gunmen have kidnapped 22 farmers from their fields just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja, local police said Friday, in the latest wave of mass abductions in the country. 

Heavily-armed criminals known locally as bandits frequently attack rural areas with poor security in the northwest and central regions, but mass kidnappings are rare in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).