IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Nigeria

Gunmen abduct bus passengers

At least 25 bus passengers were abducted by gunmen in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna on Thursday, according to a local transport union. The abductees were traveling along the Birnin-Gwari road in Kaduna when the gunmen intercepted and ordered them into a bush in the area, said Danladi Duniya, divisional head of the National Union of Road Transport Workers. Dozens of attacks have been recorded in Nigeria's northwestern region since the beginning of the year, despite efforts to calm the situation by the government.