Remains of dozens of suspected kidnap victims found in Nigerian forests
Investigations are ongoing to establish the identities of at least 28 people whose remains were recovered by police.
Remains of dozens of suspected kidnap victims found in Nigerian forests
Human skulls and bones were found by police in the Umuaku and Nneato forests
Police have recovered the skulls and bones of at least 28 people from suspected criminal camps in Nigerian forests.
Officers in the south-eastern state of Abia are now trying to identify the remains discovered on Saturday in the Umuaku and Nneato forests after a security operation in the Umunneochi area.
Police spokeswoman Maureen Chinaka said the suspects ran off when officers arrived.
The find is likely to heighten fears about kidnapping gangs operating in remote forests across parts of south-eastern Nigeria, where criminal groups have often targeted motorists, travellers and residents for ransom.
According to the Abia State Police Command, the raids were carried out after intelligence reports pointed to suspected criminal activity in the forests.
Police believe the remains may belong to kidnapping victims, though forensic and other investigations are still under way to determine their identities and the circumstances of their deaths.
"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.
Police said surveillance had been stepped up in the area as officers tried to trace those who escaped.
Abia state police commissioner Wilfred Afolabi said the operation formed part of an ongoing effort to break up criminal hideouts in the state.
Police have urged residents to report suspicious activity and security concerns as efforts continue to identify the victims and establish whether the remains are linked to unresolved kidnapping cases in the region.
Authorities have previously found decomposing bodies believed to be connected to kidnapping activity during security raids in Umunneochi.
Separately over the weekend, more than 80 people, mostly women, were seized in separate mass kidnappings in two states in the country's north.
In an attack on Sunday, nearly 50 farmers were abducted by gunmen in Niger State.
On Sunday, about 40 other women were kidnapped in the neighbouring state of Zamfara, according to two security reports seen by AFP and a local source.
Abductions for ransom have become a major source of income for criminals, including bandits and militant Islamists, in northern Nigeria.