Gunmen have abducted 23 children from an unregistered orphanage in Nigeria's north-central Kogi state, with eight still missing after security forces managed to rescue 15 in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The raid took place late Sunday at a facility called the Dahallukitab Group of Schools, located in an isolated area of Lokoja, the state capital. The owner of the facility — or, according to some accounts, his wife — was also taken. No group has claimed responsibility.

Kogi's information commissioner Kingsley Fanwo confirmed the rescue of 15 children, crediting the "prompt and coordinated response" of security agencies. He said intensive operations remain under way to secure the return of the eight still missing and to apprehend those responsible. Fanwo also stressed that the orphanage had been "operating illegally in a remote, bushy environment without registration with the State Government and without the knowledge of relevant authorities and security agencies," urging all operators of orphanages, schools, and similar institutions to register with the appropriate government bodies, particularly given the current security climate.

Kogi state, situated where Nigeria's north meets its centre, lies in a region that has seen a sharp rise in violent attacks in recent months. Security sources say the state has an active Boko Haram cell — the jihadist insurgency that has plagued northern Nigeria for over a decade — and several recent assaults in the area have been linked to the group. In November, hundreds of schoolchildren were abducted by gunmen from a school in neighbouring Niger state in an attack also attributed to Boko Haram.

Nigeria as a whole is grappling with a severe kidnapping crisis driven by multiple overlapping conflicts: jihadist insurgencies, criminal "bandit" gangs operating for ransom, farmer-herder clashes, and separatist violence in the southeast. Mass abductions of schoolchildren have become a grim feature of life in the country's northern and central regions, where government presence is often limited. While the government has made the payment of ransoms illegal, this measure has done little to reduce the frequency of such attacks. Sunday's raid is notable as the first time an orphanage has been targeted in this way.

Authorities say the government remains "fully committed" to rescuing all remaining victims, though the ages of the children have not yet been officially disclosed. The incident has renewed urgent questions about the protection of vulnerable children in under-regulated and isolated facilities across Nigeria.